Past and Future Happiness
by Scififan33
Summary: Can two people from different times become friends when one of them is a slave? What will happen when time separates them only to reunite them millennia later?
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter or Dark Hunter._

_I have only read bits and pieces of Ash's book so some of what I put in his backstory may not be cannon. There will be some slash early on but not sure yet whether it will be a permanent pairing. Let me know what you think. _

**Chapter 1**

Ash paused as he walked down the busy London streets to just people watch for a few seconds. He wasn't often needed over here, despite the booming population for some reason there wasn't a high volume of Daimons. He didn't know why and if anyone else did they weren't telling him. Something made him shiver and look around, his eyes focused on a family across the street and he grimaced as he saw the man and woman and the way they treated their son. But then he looked past them and his eyes widened slightly behind his sunglasses as he stared at the small dark haired boy. Those eyes…he had seen those eyes before so long ago and on a grown man, not a child. Was it possible he was a descendant? The boy looked at him and then flinched and looked away, obediently following the family as they continued walking. There was some sort of power wrapped around the woman, her son and the boy, power that almost felt familiar but not. Whatever it was it wasn't a threat and he did have a meeting to get to with the local Dark-Hunter.

* * *

Harry groaned and rolled onto his back, blinking dazedly up at the blue sky above him. Since when was the sky ever so blue over Hogwarts at this time of year? And as he became aware of his body again he realised it was why too hot for a Scottish February. He managed to roll to his side and then sit up, hissing in pain as various wounds made themselves known. Sitting up he looked around to find himself on a beach of white sand leading down to the clearest blue water he had ever seen, not that he had ever been to a beach before. But he had seen pictures, especially Hermione's family holiday snaps and if he had to guess he'd say he was in the Mediterranean somewhere. He got to his feet shakily and took stock of himself after ditching his ruined robes, leaving him in jeans and a long sleeved jacket. He still had his moleskin pouch around his neck and the single Hallow he had kept, his Father's cloak, as well as his wand thankfully. So all he had to do was find the nearest Wizarding community and organise a portkey home.

* * *

So getting home was going to be a lot harder than he originally thought. Considering he was stuck in the past and in a place even most Wizards thought was a myth. Hermione would have killed for the opportunity to see the legendary Atlantis in person. It was utterly amazing and nothing like what he vaguely remembered from history classes about societies so long ago. A quick transfiguration spell had changed his clothes so that he would blend in better and he was thankful he had gotten contact lenses before Diagon Alley was hit since no one was wearing glasses. The city had found was magnificent and in some ways reminded him of pictures he'd seen of Ancient Athens. It had taken a lot of quick spell work to figure out the language and that had led to another problem, his name. Harry was a rather modern and English name, something that would stand out a mile. So he had simply chosen to use an older, foreign version of it. While it still didn't totally blend in he needed something similar so he would respond to it naturally and it was obvious to everyone he had not been born on Atlantis anyway. So now his name was Haraldr and he was from very far away, a traveller. His story had been accepted so far and so he had managed to get a room in a nice inn using some of his Wizarding money since it was gold, silver and bronze. He had been given the name and location of several people who would be willing to buy it, giving him access to local currency.

He didn't know how he had ended up so far in the past but he knew he was stuck until either someone back home found a way to get him back or his luck kicked in and he found a way back himself. That meant he had to make a life for himself in case it took years. Which meant getting money and a permanent place to live. Depending on how much money he got he would either live a life of luxury or find some sort of work. He could handle all of that after years of looking after himself. What was hard to adjust to was the sight of slaves. Seeing other humans being owned made him feel utterly sick. And there was nothing he could do about it; slaves were simply a part of life in ancient times and one person, even a wizard wasn't going to change that. And that was another thing; he'd gone to a temple the other day and been totally shocked to see magic. Sure the Statue of Secrecy hadn't even been thought of yet but to see magic so openly had been surprising but also good news for him as long as it wasn't limited to only priests. At least the place being a monarchy was something at least vaguely familiar.

* * *

Harry smiled as he stood on the balcony of his home and looked over his garden where a young woman was working. After buying his house he had done something that would have made Hermione curse him, he had bought slaves. He hated owning people but at least with him they had good lives and were basically free in all but name. He knew he confused them but he figured they'd get used to him eventually. The house was far larger than needed for one person but status was everything in Atlantis and he did not want people trying to walk over him. He glanced over as an aging man walked towards him and bowed slightly. "You don't need to bow to me Akakios."

"Of course Master. You have received an invitation from Lord Estes to attend one of his gatherings."

"Do you know who Lord Estes is?"

"Of course sir, he is the younger brother of King Icarion of Didymos and has lived here for over twenty years. He is friends with the Atlantean Royal family as well and acts as Ambassador for his brother. His parties are lavish and very popular, especially among young men."

"Do I want to know why?"

"Because there are always many tsoulus of both genders."

Harry frowned. "I don't know that word Akakios."

"It means sex-slave." The older man answered, he knew even if he did not understand what his master thought of slavery. Sure enough Harry's features tightened in anger and disgust.

"How bad would it be to turn down the invitation?"

"It would do your reputation good to be seen at his party, at least for some time. Many of the rich of your age attend and it is a good way to socialise with them."

Harry groaned and slumped down on a nearby kline, the reclining couch was nowhere near as comfortable as the plush couches in the Gryffindor common room but he was getting used to them. "So go or be treated as an outsider for a long time." He muttered and received a nod in reply. "Very well send my acceptance and I will need appropriate cloths I suppose. Just please keep in mind I do not like displaying my body."

"Of course Master. I will see to it at once."

* * *

Harry felt very uncomfortable as he reclined on a kline amongst other young men around his age. The food was rich, even richer than that served at school, and his stomach did not like it at all so he was only nibbling. At least the wine was nice though he was careful not to overindulge. He smiled and laughed when appropriate but he hated being there, how could they be so shallow? All they cared about was their own pleasure. He was just considering leaving, he had been there for two hours after all, when the evenings 'entertainment' entered the large room, men and woman dressed very scantily and all highly attractive. A young woman smiled seductively at him and knelt beside his couch but he sent her away with a flick of his wrist and she simply moved on to the young man beside him. Harry closed his eyes briefly to block out the sight of her quickly removed clothes. Hearing a commotion he glanced over and heard a laugh from one of his companions. "Good luck Haraldr, just a night with him costs more than my father gives me to spend in a year." The young man commented and Harry blinked, that was a lot of money. Surely no one could be that expensive. Cursing his curiosity he got up and moved closer to see. A teenager knelt on the floor, golden blonde hair falling down his back and eyes firmly fixed on the floor. Harry felt something against his magic and shivered slightly even as his magic wrapped tighter around him, shielding him. He couldn't be more than fifteen or sixteen and yet he was being treated like a piece of meat as the others bid for a night with him. The boy glance up and green met odd swirly silver for a second. He only needed that long to come to a decision and place a bid so far above the others they had no chance.

Lord Estes laughed. "For that much you could have him for a week!"

"Then how much would it take for a month?" He asked seriously and the man's eyes went wide even as Harry sent a silent compulsion charm at the man. He named a figure and Harry nodded. "Done." If Hermione was still alive she would kill him for purchasing a sex slaves services but he could give this boy a month of peace. "Follow me." He addressed the younger male who stood and followed him from the villa. Sensing he was having trouble keeping up Harry slowed his pace. They soon reached his own villa and he walked inside tiredly. Akakios was soon walking towards them. "See to it that he has a room and anything he needs Akakios."

"Of course Master. Do you need anything?"

"No, just sleep." He looked at the teenager and sighed. "Go with Akakios, he'll get you settled for the night and we can talk in the morning." The teen just nodded and trailed after Akakios. Once they were gone Harry retired to his own room and stripped off. He quickly washed down with cold water from a jug and then collapsed into bed.

When he walked out to the balcony the next morning he found breakfast waiting for him beside the stone bench he liked to watch the sunrise from as a teenager kneeling beside it. "God morning, I hope you slept well." Harry greeted as he sat down. He reached out slowly and gently tipped the teens head up, not liking the way he stared down all the time plus he wanted to get a better look at him. "I am Haraldr and this is my home. What is your name?"

"Acheron Master."

"As I am sure you heard last night I have 'purchased' you for the next month. But I have no intention of having sex with you." He could feel Acheron's surprise at that. "If I wanted sex I would go find a willing partner, not a slave who can't refuse me. While you are here you will receive three meals a day and have your own room which I will not enter. As long as you remain on the grounds, do not steal or use violence then you can do as you wish." He explained calmly. He doubted Acheron would believe him but he would learn. And Harry planned on more negotiating with a certain lord to buy more of Acheron's time.

* * *

Acheron stared around him at all of the books, a hand almost touching some of them. Not that it would do him any good, he couldn't read. "Found something you like?" He tensed at the sound of his temporary masters voice but for the past five days the man had kept his word. "You can read any of them you like." Acheron looked away. "Can you read?"

"No Master."

"Would you like to learn?" His Master asked and Acheron risked a glance at him, seeing no cruelty in his eyes.

"Yes please Master."

"Alright, we will start with something easy." He chose a book and then sat, patting the seat beside him. Acheron cautiously sat beside him, waiting to be struck but instead the older man simply opened the book and began teaching.

_TBC…._


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: Not mine._

_Everyone seems to want HarryAsh so guess it will stay that way._

**Chapter 2**

Harry sat up as a noise disturbed the silence of the house. He slipped out of bed and grabbed a lamp, lighting it quickly and then left the bedroom. He followed the noise to the room where Acheron slept. He knocked on the door softly but there was no answer. He opened the door and moved inside, finding the teen asleep and tangled in the sheet. "Acheron? It's alright, it's just a nightmare." He whispered, gently placing a hand on his arm. Silver eyes snapped open and Acheron stared at him fearfully. "It's okay, you're alright." Harry set the lamp down and then reached down to gently straighten out the sheet for him. Harry gently stroked sweat soaked hair back from Acheron's face. "Go back to sleep, nothing will harm you here." He soothed even as Acheron's eyes slowly slipped shut again. Harry left his room and closed the door behind him, placing a monitoring charm on the room just in case.

* * *

Acheron watched his current Master as the older male swam in the large pool. He did not understand him at all. He had purchased his services but wasn't using him. He had even taught him to read and gave him his own room! He didn't stare at him like all the others did which was strange but also sort of nice. Though with this Master….he might not actually mind. He was very good looking, tall and slender but well-muscled, dark hair and the most intense green eyes Acheron had ever seen. That wasn't to say he was perfect, he had scars and Acheron suspected he was some sort of warrior. But he was different to any soldier or warrior he had been given to before.

Acheron started slightly as his Master surfaced and rested his arms on the edge of the pool. "Good afternoon Acheron."

"Good afternoon Master." He returned the greeting softly, keeping his eyes on the ground to keep from staring at his naked body.

"Would you like to swim?"

"I do not know how sir." He admitted. He saw his Master's hand come into his view.

"Want to learn?" Was the offer and Acheron hesitated. "I won't let you drown." Harry moved to the end with stairs and Acheron hesitated before following him. He glanced down at his clothes and then at the water. "I will only touch you to help keep you above water until you learn to do it yourself." Acheron nodded shakily and hesitantly removed his clothes before stepping into the warm water. At the bottom of the steps it reached his waist, at least at this end. It felt very nice, like an overly large bath. "Alright, let's start with learning how to float."

* * *

Harry smiled as he watched Acheron read. It had been six months since the younger male had come into his care and thanks to magic Lord Estes was happy to continue accepting payment for Harry to keep him. He had learnt to read, swim, cook and even sew in that time, all very useful skills. And he was less hesitant around Harry and the other 'slaves' which was good. But Harry could feel something in the air, his magic felt unsettled. He hated to think what it could mean since the last time it had felt like this was during the last battle, the battle that had ended with him here. Could it mean he would be returning to his own time soon? He didn't want to leave his people though, who knew what would happen to them. He went to the shelves of books and began searching through all of the ones he had on law. He would do whatever he could to ensure their happiness when he left.

Five days later he finished his will. He knew it would shock all those who he knew but he didn't care. In his will he freed all of his slaves and divided his worldly possessions among them. The only one he could nothing for was Acheron. He had set up a golem to serve as his dead body once he was gone to ensure his slaves would benefit from the will. But as soon as that happened Estes would take Acheron back and start using him again. He sighed and lent back, soaking up the warmth of the Mediterranean sun. He would miss this place a lot. Not like he missed the technology of his own time since he spent most of his time in the Wizarding world. He actually enjoyed living in the past. But he had always guessed it wasn't going to last. After all, Voldemort was still alive even if he was mortal. Well hopefully that blasted snake had been killed. He didn't understand why he had woken here after talking to Dumbledore but it had given him the best six months of his life. Now all he had to do was explain to Acheron that he was 'dying'. He didn't want the younger teen shocked by his death after all.

* * *

Acheron lay on his bed, curled on his side even as he bit at the piercings in his tongue. Haraldr, his Master, was dying. He didn't want him to die. He treated him like a person, had taught him so much. It was so amazing; he had enjoyed his time here so much. No one touched him here, yes the other slaves stared a lot but they tried to be kind. He got up and left his room, walking towards where he knew his Master slept and hesitated before slowly opening the door and moving inside. A lamp instantly lit and he saw his Master sitting up, hair messy from sleep.

"Acheron? Is something wrong?"

"No sir." Acheron answered even as he moved to kneel on the bed. He crawled towards his Master who stared at him, waiting to see what he would do. He stopped beside him and took a deep breath before leaning in to press his lips to Haraldr's. A warm hand gently cupped his cheek, easing him back.

"What are you thinking Acheron?"

"Please M…Haraldr." He finally spoke his Master's name for the first time despite having being told months ago that he could. "Let me give you this."

"But why Acheron? I won't use you."

"I know that now. I want to know….how it can be if you care about each other." He whispered.

"Oh Acheron." Harry whispered as he realised just how important he had become to the younger man. "I wish things could be different, that I could save you." He admitted.

Acheron gave a small smile at that. "You did, no matter what happens…"

"Shh." Harry soothed him. "If this is what you really want then alright." Acheron nodded so Harry gently drew him closer, one hand gently stroking his side as they kissed. "Do whatever you want, whatever feels good." Harry urged him even as he slowly explored Acheron's body with his hands. For once Acheron felt good having someone touch him; he didn't want to cringe away. He slowly brought his own hands up to explore Haraldr's skin. Being able to touch as he liked was amazing. They just lay in bed for ages, kissing and touching before Acheron shifted onto his back, offering himself. "Are you sure?" Harry asked one last time and Acheron nodded. "Alright." Harry smiled and moved to kneel between his legs. He lent in to kiss him even as he went to work preparing him, taking so much care to make sure Acheron felt nothing but pleasure.

* * *

Acheron woke slowly, feeling the warmth of another body against him and he frowned before remembering what had happened that night. He smiled and cuddled into Haraldr's body. He felt the arms around his waist tighten briefly and then warm lips were pressed to his shoulder. "Good morning."

Acheron turned his head to find green eyes locked on him and he smiled. "Good morning."

"How do you feel?"

"Incredible." He flushed slightly even as he said it.

"Good. You're welcome to come back any night you want, just to sleep or for other things."

"Thank you." His stomach rumbled and Haraldr chuckled.

"Time for breakfast." He sat up and stretched and Acheron watched him move around the room, dressing for the day.

* * *

Acheron started awake, something was wrong. He sat up and felt Haradlr's arms slip from around him. He fumbled for the lamb and then stared in horror at the other mans' cold, pale body. "No…..please no." He begged. "Help! HELP!" He screamed even as he shakily pulled the body into his arms, trying to find any sign of life but there were none.

Akakios entered the room at a run but then stopped and bowed his head in grief. They had all known this was coming but for it to happen so suddenly….He slowly approached the bed and the grieving teenager. "Shh, please young one let him go now."

"No, he can't be gone. He can't." Acheron whimpered in grief.

* * *

Acheron watched his sister with her new born son and smiled softly at them. The time he got with them was the happiest he had since…no he wouldn't think of that time, it still hurt too much. He may not have the privileges he had with him but his life her was a lot better than in Atlantis. As long as he stayed away from his parents and twin at least. And he had a new lover who he was pretty sure he loved, what a goddess saw in him he didn't know but he had been so lonely since he had died.

* * *

Harry finished packing his trunk and looked around Sirius' family home for hopefully the last time. He was done here. Voldemort was dead; the Death Eaters dead of in Azkaban and no one would leave him alone so he was leaving. He'd heard America was nice after all.

_TBC…._


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: Not mine._

_Does no one like 'No Matter what we stand together' Posted under Kirallie anymore? Only 1 review for the new chapter. _

**Chapter 3**

As soon as the doors opened a wave of humid heat hit him and Harry gasped, unused to such a thing after almost a year back in London. The weather reminded him a little of Atlantis though that hadn't been quiet so humid. Well at least he'd get his tan back. Glancing around he smiled as he spotted the man standing beside Sirius' refurbished bike. Say what you would about Goblins, if you paid them well they always came through for you. It was thanks to them that he had a house waiting and was able to enrol in college. It had been their spell work that had crammed an entire high school education into his head but he had sat the final exams and passed them all well enough to be accepted into college much to his surprise. Getting good marks in primary school had just been asking for trouble due to Dudley being an idiot and then at Hogwarts beating Hermione in anything but Defence would have caused friction he didn't need. But now he could do his best and no one could do a thing about it. In three days he would start at Tulane University and he was looking forward to it but first he needed to find his house and get settled in. It was time to move on with his life. The Boy-Who-Lived was no more and Haraldr did not belong to the modern world. It was time to find out who Harry James Potter was without them.

* * *

Harry leant back in his chair in thought before shaking it off and moving to pack his things up. Mr Alexander was a very interesting teacher and if he was fully human Harry would eat Hagrid's cooking. There was something….unearthly about the man but he didn't feel like a threat. And the way he spoke about Ancient Greece and Macedonia…like he had actually lived it, maybe he had. Harry knew there were being around that could live that long after all. Who better to teach the subject and it was obvious he had a passion for the time. It was why Harry had chosen Classical Studies after all, his love for the past even if Atlantis was considered a myth now. It had been tempting to focus on archaeology and go looking for Atlantis, he had a pretty good idea where the islands remains where thanks to magic, but sometimes things vanished into history for a good reason, just like Avalon and Camelot. So instead he decided the life of an academic would be nice, maybe in a few years he would be in front of his own class.

"Mr. Potter?"

Harry turned to find the man he had been thinking about standing in front of him. "Yes sir."

"Welcome to Tulane, I have been appointed your faculty advisor so if you need any help just ask me."

"Thank you sir." Harry smiled at him as he lifted his bag.

"You're from England?" Julian asked the young man as they left the room.

"Surrey, but I was schooled in Scotland for the most part."

"So what made you decide to come all the way here for school?" He was curious about the boy. He looked so young but his eyes looked as old as any Dark Hunters.

"Did you hear about the terrorist attacks over here?"

"Oh." Julian winced.

"Yeah. There's nothing left for me there so I figured it was time to see the world." Harry shrugged.

"Well I hope you're happy here and I'll see you next week unless you need anything."

"Don't suppose you know a good place for some local cuisine, nothing fancy though."

Julian thought about it. "Well….there is Sanctuary. It's a bar and very popular with tourists and locals. They serve some good food and it's safe too, no violence allowed."

"Sounds good."

"Just don't try to drink underage." He warned and Harry laughed.

"I have no interest in alcohol." He had had his fill of wine and stuff at those 'parties' in Atlantis."

"Alright. Let me write out directions for you."

* * *

Come In Peace, Or Leave In Pieces.

Harry chuckled at the sign as he walked inside. It was a good warning. He looked around and smiled, relaxing at the feeling of safety the place gave off. And where did they hire their wait staff, a modelling agency? He shook his head and found an empty table, sitting down to people watch. He ordered a coke and some gumbo; he had come for native food even if he wasn't sure what it was exactly. There was a band on the stage, a sign advertising them as the Howlers made him think of Mooney. But it wasn't just the name, something about them felt wild and untamed just like his honorary uncle but different to him as well. He accepted his food with a smile for the young woman who delivered it and she smiled back before moving on. Harry relaxed back in his chair and studied his dinner before picking up his spoon and digging in. It was good, spicier than he was used to but still good and filling. He finished off his coke and the same woman approached. "Refill?" She asked and he nodded.

"Thanks." He handed her his empty glass and she took it to refill.

She put the glass down and looked to see if he needed anything else. "Tourist?" She asked having picked up on his accent.

"Student, one of my teachers recommended this place for good native food."

"Well welcome to New Orleans."

"Thank you miss." He grinned and she laughed before leaving him to his food. He stayed to listen to the band for a while after eating before leaving. Just as he did the song Sweet Home Alabama began to play and many others left with him to his confusion but he shrugged it off and got on Sirius' bike to head home. He had class in the morning after all.

* * *

Acheron looked towards the door with a frown. Just for a second….but that was impossible, he had held his dead body in his arms over eleven thousand years ago. And yet that young man had looked so much like him. Was it possible Haraldr had family that had descendants still around? He shook it off and went inside, Simi wanted to have a night out so he was giving her one.

_TBC…._

_How many of you want to scream over them almost meeting again? _


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: Not mine._

_Should Harry be the Master of Death?_

**Chapter 4**

Harry sat back from his laptop and stretched. It was almost 2am but he had finally finished his paper. He hit print and then stood up, wincing when his back cracked. He might only be nineteen but sometimes he felt three times that, the various injuries from over the years making themselves known. It was part of the reason he'd moved from England, the cold made it worse. Of course there was a lot more to it than that but it had been one of the considerations. Honestly he still wasn't sure what had made him chose New Orleans but it had just felt right and he knew better than to go against his instincts, when he did bad things happened. He sighed tiredly and packed his books away as well as his laptop before collapsing on his bed to sleep, making sure to set his alarm. It took seconds for sleep to claim him and in his dreams he was back in Atlantis, Acheron beside him.

When he woke in the morning it was to a cold empty bed and it hurt. Despite how little time they had together he still missed the younger male. He threw back the sheet and got up to shower and begin the day. University was harder than he'd expected but interesting and it kept him occupied, kept him from dwelling on things he'd rather forget. No longer having to write everything by hand and with a quill was great, he loved his laptop, it was the best purchase he had made! How the Wizarding world could think itself so superior when they still used owl post and quills he had no idea.

Dressed casually in jeans and a long sleeved shirt he threw on his leather jacket and grabbed his helmet and bag before heading for the garage and his bike. He only had two classes today but he had another paper due soon so he planned to spend several hours in the library.

* * *

Julian saw a familiar head of messy hair bent over a book and slowed to say hello to his student.

Harry looked up and smiled at his teacher. "Hi Dr Alexander."

"Mr Potter, settled in alright?"

"Yes sir. I'm enjoying the work a lot."

"Made any friends yet?" He asked since he had noticed the teen sitting alone in class and sure enough he shrugged. "There's more to college than just class. It's a time to make friends and have fun as well, join a club or sport." Julian tried but he could tell Harry wasn't at all interested, it was like there was a wall between him and everyone else. But if he had lost his family to the attacks in London over the last few years than it was understandable. He just hoped as more time passed Harry would try to open up to the other students. "Alright, I'll see you in class tomorrow." He left it there and went over to find the book he needed, leaving Harry to his work.

* * *

Julian smiled at his best friend as the other man gently stroked his wife's stomach. He knew the wonder he felt, the disbelief that something so wonderful could be happening to him. He had felt it when Grace was pregnant. After everything that had happened he had never though he would have a family again. Now he not only had a family but his best friend back in his life. Now and then he still felt a flash of guilt for the way Kyrian had died all those centuries ago, if he hadn't been so foolish then he would have been at his side facing the Romans. But they had both made it, even if it had taken a few goddesses and a curse.

They looked over as the door opened and greeted Acheron warmly. Julian was still getting to know the ancient Dark Hunter but he liked what he saw and knew. Plus Kyrian trusted him and called him friend, that was a very good endorsement right there.

"So how are classes going?" Kyrian asked, still amused by the idea of Julian as a teacher.

"Same as always. Though there's a new student all the way from England. It's strange, if it wasn't for the fact his eyes are green and he's out in the day I'd swear he was a Dark Hunter. His eyes are so old and worn. He lived through the terrorist attacks but it's more than that." Julian admitted tiredly. "I want to help him but he's closed himself off."

"You can't help him if he doesn't want help." Ash pointed out and Julian nodded sadly.

* * *

Harry stopped his bike and looked around in confusion even as his magic surged happily under his skin. What was going on? Then he heard the sounds of a fight and sighed, he should keep going but he couldn't. He yanked his helmet off and vanished into the darkness, hidden by magic. What he found had him staring wide eyed in shock as a tall figure with purple hair twirled a staff around, taking out a group of blondes expertly. It was amazing and scary at the same time to watch. He saw one of the men disintegrate which wasn't normal but then another was sneaking up on the man and he couldn't allow that so he moved, dropping his invisibility as he did. He grabbed the blondes arm and pulled, throwing him off balance even as he brought his knee up into his stomach. "Sneak attacks aren't nice." He snapped, putting some magic into the blows. The blonde snarled, revealing fangs and Harry threw aside any regret at fighting. Friendly vampires did not go around attacking people after all. Of course he couldn't use any obvious magic since there was another person around but he could be subtle. He spun and kicked out; catching his opponent in the chest and sending him back to be skewered threw the heart by a rusty old pipe, the body disintegrating. Harry turned to find they were all gone and the taller man was watching him. He moved slightly and the light fell across his face, revealing features Harry would never forget. "Acheron?" He breathed in shock.

_TBC…._


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: Not mine  
__So far Master of Death seems the most popular in the polls but I'm not sure, it is a bit overdone after all. Come on people, show imagination! How could Harry be immortal without that?_

**Chapter 5**

Acheron stared at the young man in front of him in surprise and wariness. He knew who it looked like but that was impossible, he had held his dead body in his arms eleven thousand years ago. But he knew his name….."Haraldr?"

"This is impossible. You….you should be dead of old age." Harry whispered and then smirked slightly. "Love the hair colour."

"How old are you?" Acheron asked, was it possible he was older than Ash?

"Nineteen." He admitted and then sighed. "We should get off the street; this isn't going to be a conversation we want overheard. Unless you like white coats?" Harry left the alley and headed for his bike, able to feel Acheron following him. He remembered that in Atlantis he had been able to sense a kernel of very contained power within the then younger male but now….he fought down a shiver as he felt that power wash over him, Voldemort could only have dreamed of such power. "Need a lift wherever we're going?" He nodded at his bike and Acheron hesitated before nodding and getting on. He was even taller than Harry remembered and it made him proud to see how much he had grown after he 'died'. "So my place or yours?" He asked as he grabbed his helmet.

Acheron looked at the young man sitting in front of him even as he brought his arms up around him to hold on. Despite his words Ash could feel his nervousness, sadness and wariness. "Yours will be fine." He knew Haraldr would feel safer in his own home.

"Hang on then." He put his helmet on and started the powerful engine. It felt odd for Acheron to be on the back of someone else's bike but he forced himself to relax and enjoy the experience even as he tried to figure out what his one-time Master was. He wasn't a god, were-hunter, demon….he felt like nothing Acheron knew except….that child in London all those years ago. But that didn't make sense, unless he had children at some point. Then again he said he was only nineteen. A few minutes later they pulled into a driveway and then a garage and Ash got off even as Haraldr stopped the bike and pulled his helmet off. "Come on in, you want anything?"

"No thanks." Acheron looked around the rooms curiously. In a way the home reminded him of the villa; it felt just as inviting and warm even with modern furnishings. He saw a few photo frames and looked closer, seeing a young couple on their wedding day, another of the couple and a dark haired baby and then one of a younger Haraldr with two other teens, one redheaded boy and a brown haired girl.

"My parents and my school best friends." Harry told him when he came back into the room and saw him looking. He sat on the couch and stared at Acheron, still amazed he was alive after so long.

Acheron sat opposite and studied him closely; he could see no changes from when he had last seen him except his tan had faded. "How can you be here Haraldr?"

"Harry, my name is Harry Potter." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I was born on the 31st of July 1980 in a small town called Godric's Hollow in England to James and Lily Potter." It was amazing how much it still hurt to talk about his parents despite barely remembering them. But they had given their lives to ensure his survival.

Haraldr…Harry was becoming more and more of a mystery. Ash was so used to knowing everything that it was rather refreshing to be surprised. But he didn't know how to interact with him; he had changed a lot over the millennia while his old Master appeared to be the same world weary, protective and kind young man he was back then. Would he hate him for everything he had done over the years? And why did he even care what Harry would think of him? "How could you have been born in 1980 when I knew you elven thousand years ago?"

Harry's eyes went wide in shock. "Eleven…I knew it had been a long time but I never imagined…." He shook his head. "There was a fight and then I woke up on a beach in Atlantis, I never knew when it was."

"You mean, you weren't born in my time?" Acheron asked to clarify and Harry nodded. "Time travel like that is impossible."

"Well most things that are impossible seem to be possible around me." Harry stated.

Ash suddenly remembered something and frowned. "Did you live around London?"

"Surrey, why?"

"Years ago when I was in London I saw a child that looked like you. He was with a couple and another child. I thought maybe a distant descendant of yours."

"Let me guess the man and child were crazily over weight and the woman was really skinny?"

"So it was you."

"Sounds like it." Harry cocked his head and stared at Acheron before smiling. "You had blue hair and were wearing sunglasses." How could he forget the odd looking young man who had watched them that day?

"That was me." Ash agreed, confused by all he was learning. "What are you?"

Harry hesitated, the law said he had to find a way around the question or even wipe Acherons' memory. But Acheron couldn't be human due to living so long, not to mention the now well controlled power he had so the law didn't apply, right? "I'm a wand waving, cauldron stirring, broom flying wizard. What are you?" he answered almost flippantly, not sure how Acheron would take the answer or even his return question. This wasn't the Acheron who had hesitantly crawled into bed with him or had sat beside him wanting to learn to read. This Acheron was a man fully grown and confident and he wasn't sure how he would react.

_TBC…  
__Not entirely happy with this chapter._


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: Not mine._

_I have honestly been avoiding this chapter cause I hate having to yank out the explanations. By the way, for anyone who read New World posted as Kirallie a sequel has been posted that is a crossover with Dark Hunter. Another World: Here I go Again by Nonsense-Nosense is the sequel, first chapter of it is up. _

**Chapter 6**

Acheron stared at Harry, he was a what? A wizard? There was no such thing. Humans couldn't do magic like he was saying. Sure there were people like Amanda but broom flying? It wasn't possible, he'd know, wouldn't he?" "Wizard?" He asked just to be sure and Harry smiled but nodded. This was the Master he remembered from so long ago but while he may be the same person Acheron had changed so much since then. So why was he here? To get answers only or out of some strange hope that maybe he could have a friend who knew some of his past? Was that even possible? Harry had never been affected by his curse and obviously still wasn't. When Acheron had gone to his bed it had been because he wanted to, not because Harry was obsessed with his body.

"Wizard." Harry shifted to lounge on the couch, stretching and popping his back. "The weather here is so much better than London, not as much fog and rain." He absently rubbed at his arm where Acheron remembered a scar that went right through his arm.

"You died." Acheron pointed out, time travel was possible though he'd never heard of someone going that far back before. But how could Harry have come back to life? "I held your body in my arms." It had been one of the worst days of his life.

"I'm sorry." Harry whispered, closing his eyes briefly. "But I didn't die. I could feel something changing, like before I got thrown back there so I set things up. Wrote a will to free the others but I couldn't do anything for you since….well for the will to work there had to be a death. I used magic to create a fake to replace me when I got pulled back. Guessing it worked."

"It did. I believe that instead of selling the estate and splitting the proceeds they simply continued to live there." He had heard whispers, freeing your slaves upon your death had been unheard of in Atlantis. A favoured slave might be passed on to a family member while the rest were sold but they were not freed.

"Good, that's good." Harry smiled slightly at the news. "But it didn't help you."

"You gave me skills I never would have learnt otherwise, skills that came in handy later. For that I have always been grateful."

Harry smiled more widely at that. "Happy to have been helpful." He studied the tall, slender man opposite him. He had grown a lot over the millennia and not just in height. He was what some of the girls at school would have called 'drool worthy'. Not that he hadn't been back then but he had grown into his looks more. Though he wasn't sure whether he liked the natural blond or the crazy dye job better. "You always felt powerful but it was so contained, like you didn't know it was there but now…..you're not human, are you Acheron?" He finished quietly, it was the only thing that made sense. New Orleans was turning out to be a very strange city.

Acheron was startled by Harry's observation. His being something other than human was not usually the first assumption people had. Then again most people weren't time travelling wizards. But what should he tell him? What most knew, the whole truth, most of it? "I am a Dark Hunter." He finally admitted. That was the best place to start, he could tell Harry more if they became friends one day. Maybe.

"And a Dark Hunter is?"

"Remember the Temples?"

"Of course, there was a Temple on every corner, it was the only hint I could find of magic back there."

"The gods and goddesses they were dedicated to are real." Acheron then told the story of Artemis and Apollo and how the Daimons and Dark Hunters came to be. "I was the first after…after Apollo killed me in front of Artemis because his mistress had my sister and nephew killed and I didn't help them. I couldn't, I would have died to protect them but I had been drugged. Now Artemis owns my soul and those of the other hunters." He waited for the scorn and hate but instead Harry knelt in front of him, placing a gentle hand on his knee.

"I am so sorry you went through that Acheron. What happened to your family wasn't your fault, I know you would have saved them if you could. He had no right to kill you." Harry whispered, able to see the grief and guilt Acheron still carried. "Artemis had no right to bring you back to clean up her family mess either. No one should be condemned to such an existence."

Acheron stared at Harry in surprise, there was no pity in his eyes just sadness and understanding. Understanding…."You died."

"Sort of. It's kind of complicated. I wasn't fully dead, just hovering on the edge. I was given the choice to wake up or not. I chose to live."

At least Harry had been given the choice unlike him. Of course that raised the question of why he had been given the option and who had given it to him? What had been the price? Because there was always a price, he had learnt that long before he met Harry.

_TBC..._


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: Not mine_

**Chapter 7**

Harry slumped on his couch, still in shock. He had never thought he'd see Acheron again and yet the other man had only just left his home. But the man who had just left was not the one he remembered from what to him was just weeks ago. That Acheron was very different in many ways to the one he had been talking to, though he sensed that in some ways he was still the same even if he hid it. The question was what now? Could they move on from hat they had back then to become friends or something? Did they want to? He wouldn't mind a friend and Acheron was powerful enough to not only not covet Harry's own power but to protect himself from Harry's sucky luck. Sure he was lucky, it was the people around him that tended to die though.

He groaned and forced himself off the couch, he still had some reading to do for class the next day.

* * *

Acheron sat on his throne absently strumming his guitar and mind reeling from the day's revelations. He had never expected anything like this. Of all those he had called 'Master' during his mortal life it had been Harry that he had come to care about, maybe even love. He had almost been broken by his death and yet it turned out he hadn't died. But what happened next? He couldn't see Harry's future at all which meant they would be staying at least friends. Did he want to get close to him again when the next time he died it would be for real? Would Harry even want to know him now? He wasn't the same scared teenager he had been all those centuries ago and Harry was the same as he had been then thanks to time travel.

And in a way that was the most puzzling part of this. How had Harry gone back so far and then been brought back to the present? It shouldn't be possible and yet it had happened. Had one of the gods done it? But why would they do that? He put his guitar down and changed his clothes before vanishing, maybe Savitar would know something and actually be in the mood to share.

* * *

Harry stayed back after class so Julian approached him and rested against his desk. "Everything alright?"

"I don't know." He admitted, chewing his lip. "Something happened, it could be something great or not. I just…"

"Need someone to talk to?"

Harry shrugged. "No one would believe it."

"I can believe some pretty impossible things Harry, try me." He offered and Harry stared at him. "How about I meet you at Sanctuary and we can talk over some food? Whatever this is you need to get it off your chest or it could affect your grades at least."

Harry sighed but nodded, this would be one way to find out if he was right about the man having lived what he taught. "Okay." Harry grabbed his bag and stood up, leaving the classroom and then he had to bite back a laugh when he saw the car his teacher got into, it appeared he occasionally argued with telephone poles or something. He grabbed his helmet and started his bike, following the car to the bar. They went inside and Harry noticed the way Professor Alexander was greeted by the staff. They sat in a booth and ordered some food and drinks, waiting until they were served to talk.

Julian took a sip of beer and put his glass back down to take a wing to eat. "So, what happened?"

"I ran into someone I was positive was dead. Turns out he's not."

"How sure are you he was dead?"

"Hundred percent positive. Seeing him again…." Harry ran a hand through his hair. "Things were meant to be simpler here, not more complicated." He grumbled.

Julian chuckled. "Life is complicated everywhere Harry."

"Can I ask you something?" Julian nodded. "How old are you really?"

Julian almost choked on his beer at the question. "Excuse me?"

"The way you teach is as if you lived what you're teaching. No one gets that good through just study." Julian stared at his student. How had he figured it out? No one else had. "Cause the person I found? Is older than what you're teaching."

"This person have a name?" It wasn't possible it could be who he thought, could it?

"Acheron." Harry whispered and Julian slumped back in his seat.

"You know Ash."

"Knew him back in Atlantis, stupid time travel mess."

"But that's…" Julian picked up his beer. "Julian of Macedon, nice to meet you." He admitted and Harry grinned.

"I knew it! Wow. So how?"

"My mother is Aphrodite."

"As in the Greek goddess?"

Julian nodded. "My father was mortal though. I'm only alive because Priapus cursed me into a scroll. My wife managed to free me a few years ago and I'm still getting used to the twenty first century."

"I bet you are. I had the opposite problem, I went from all this to Atlantis, talk about a culture shock." He shook his head.

"Ash helped?"

"Uh…sort of. He was pretty much normal back then. I had some things on me I was able to change for currency thankfully. Ended up with a nice villa and slaves that ended up being freed in my 'will'. Everything was so different there. So yes, I was very shocked to see Acheron the other night. I logically assumed he was long dead. And neither of us has any idea how I got there or then back here." He also assumed Acheron wouldn't want his past as a slave mentioned, not that it was anything to be ashamed of but he doubted the older man wanted everyone to know.

"So is he very different to the Acheron you knew?"

Harry nodded. "But I'm not. For him it's been thousands of years but for me it's only been months."

"Did you talk about it?"

"A bit. The talk was more confusion over how all this is possible and stuff." He picked up a chicken wing and nibbled at it.

"I've known Ash for a while now, he's friends with an old friend of mine. He's….a complicated man. But I know he needs friends. Can you accept how he's changed and be that friend?"

"I like the changes I've seen, he's so much more confident and sure of himself. He's also a lot older than me now when I was the older back then which is a bit weird."

"So?" Julian asked and Harry sighed running his hands through his messy hair.

"Keep talking to him until we sort out how to be friends in the twenty first century."

"So you'll pay attention in class on Friday?"

"Yeah, sorry."

Acheron glanced at his phone as it rang and saw Harry's name flash up on the display. It had been just over a week since they had met and now the wizard was calling him. He had given Harry space to think about things and obviously he had finally come to a decision. Ash took a deep breath and answered the call.

_TBC…_


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: Not mine_

_So for my HPSW the vote seems to be for HarryPadme, so people don't mind Luke and Leia never being born?_

**Chapter 8**

Harry sat at a booth in Sanctuary, alternating between checking the door and his phone. He smiled as it opened and a familiar tall form filled the doorway even as Sweet Home Alabama began to play. He saw Ash nod to a few people before sliding into the seat opposite Harry. "Hey."

"Sorry I'm late Harry, I had to deal with a problem."

"Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you took my call."

"You think we can do this?"

"What? Be friends after millennia? Yeah, I think so." Harry smiled at him and Ash gave a slight smile.

"Alright. So what are you doing now?"

* * *

Harry laughed as they walked down the street, night falling around them. As it darkened Harry noticed Ash becoming more on guard so he let his magic seep out into their surroundings. "Can't feel anyone like those things you killed anywhere nearby." He pointed out softly and Ash blinked.

"You can feel them?"

"Well I can look for beings that feel like the ones you killed do. Daimons….right? And I thought vampires were a pain, least they only want your blood."

"Vampires? Real vampires?"

"Yep. Allergic to garlic, sunlight and wood. Only met one when I was sixteen, kind of creepy."

"Your world is even stranger than mine."

Harry chuckled. "Oh I don't know, you're the one that knows literal gods." Of course that was when a scream pierced the air, one exchanged look and then they were running towards it. Harry grinned slightly at the realisation he had someone at his side when running towards trouble.

* * *

"You're sadistic, you know that right?"

Julian chuckled at the complaint. "Problems Harry?"

"How could you write such a horrible exam?"

"I didn't think it was that bad." That got him a glare. "Looking forward to the break?"

"Yeah. This whole university thing is harder than I thought it'd be."

"And how are other things going?"

"Good. We've met up a few times, saved a few damsels in distress."

Julian choked. "He took you hunting?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "I'm hardly defenceless."

Julian sighed but let it go. Ash wouldn't put Harry in danger. "Alright. Got any plans for the break?"

"Not sure. I was thinking of hitting the road for a week or so but now I'm don't know."

"You should see more of America when you can. Ash is pretty good at getting around if he misses you while you're gone."

"Guess so."

* * *

Ash watched as Harry packed up his saddle bags from where he was sitting on the lounge. "I'm not going for long." The wizard pointed out as he shoved a shirt in.

"You'll keep a look out for Daimons and stay away?"

"Yes Dad." He teased with a grin.

"Harry."

"Ash I'll be fine. I've been looking after myself for a while. I'm not helpless and I can always apparate out if something does happen, promise."

"Alright. Will you call?"

"Of course." Harry threw him a grin. "We are not losing contact again Ash."

"Yeah." He went to say something else but his phone rang and Harry bit back a laugh, that phone rarely stopped ringing. He finished his packing while Ash talked. "Gotta go?"

"Yeah."

"You can call me too." Harry told him before he vanished, off to help his people. Harry finished closing up his place before putting his bags on his bike and heading out of the city.

* * *

Harry answered his phone even as he sprawled on the bed. "Hey Ash, good day?"

"Not too bad." They talked for a while before hanging up and Harry headed out to find dinner. Julian had been right to urge him to keep his plans despite meeting Ash again. He was really enjoying himself, spending his days on the road or wandering around whatever town or city he was in. It was a great way to see more of his new home country. So far the trip had been trouble free but he doubted his luck would hold.

Sure enough three days later he came across a man fighting a group of Daimons with a gun. He was taking them down easily enough so he hesitated in getting involved but then one snuck up behind the man so he acted.

Sundown turned to find who had just saved him from getting stabbed in the back to find a young man in the mouth of the alley, his eyes were green so he wasn't another Dark Hunter. So who was he?

"Guessing you work for Ash."

"Who are you?"

"Harry, a friend of Ash's. You hurt?"

"Thanks to you, no. Ash send you?"

"Nope, just travelling around. Saw you fighting and decided to step in when it looked like you would get hurt."

Sundown stared at him, he claimed to be a friend of Ash's and he had helped him. "Well thanks again." He picked up his shotgun from where he'd dropped it.

"No problem. Good hunting." Harry walked away and Sundown watched him go, he was an odd one.

* * *

Harry put his bags on his bed and smiled, stretching to pop his back, it was good to be home again. He unpacked and then got changed before heading out, he felt like music and dinner. A little while later he parked outside Sanctuary and headed inside, getting a few looks. "You're becoming a bit of a regular, like our food that much?" Aimee asked as she put a glass of coke down in front of him. "Though you haven't been in for a few weeks."

"Schools on break so I went on a road trip." He took a sip. "And yes, the food here is that good."

She laughed. "So the usual?"

"Yes please." She nodded and went to place his order.

"You know him Aimee?" Mama asked as her daughter joined her at the bar.

"Not really, why?"

"He was sitting with Ash a few weeks ago."

Aimee glanced back over at the British man and blinked. "Well he isn't a Dark Hunter or one of us Mama."

"Be careful."

"Yes Mama." She went back to work, serving him his food when it was ready.

"Thanks Miss."

"It's Aimee, if you're turning into a regular you might as well start learning names."

He laughed. "True enough, I'm Harry, nice to make your acquaintance."

"Thank you, enjoy your meal."

* * *

Aimee glanced over as Sweet Home Alabama began playing and several patrons left the bar only to see Acheron and Harry walk in together, obviously talking about something. Nick was the only human she had ever seen the head Dark Hunter really talk with so who or what was Harry? He was cute enough for a human but he seemed so normal and not at all dangerous. If not for her family watching her every move he might even be a bit of fun for a while, though unlike a lot of patrons he'd never really flirted with her. She just hoped he wasn't a danger because he seemed a good guy and those were a very rare thing in their world.

_TBC…._


	9. Chapter 9

_Disclaimer: Not mine._

_I think I'm playing around with the timeline a bit since I haven't read the books in a while but this is AU. Harry's presence in Ash's past and presence would change things. Also I have decided how to make Harry immortal, thanks to all those who made suggestions_

**Chapter 9**

Julian paused as he recognised the head of messy hair in a nearby booth and then headed that way, Kyrian following him in confusion. "Hey Harry." Julian greeted and the younger man looked up and grinned.

"Hey Julian, looking forward to tormenting new students?" He teased and Julian laughed.

"Of course. Harry Potter this is Kyrian Hunter, an old friend of mine."

"Hi. So old friend or OLD friend?"

Kyrian stared in shock at the distinction the kid was making, he knew? "I…Julian?"

"Kyrian of Thrace meet Harry Potter, unwilling time traveller who happens to be good friends with Ash." Julian motioned to the empty side of the booth and Harry nodded so he pushed Kyrian down before sliding in beside him.

"Time traveller?" Kyrian asked, feeling rather off balance.

"I met Ash in Atlantis." Harry answered even as he waved Aimee over so the two could order. Once she was gone he leant back in his seat, studying Julian's friend. He'd read up on Julian's history which had included the famed warrior Kyrian of Thrace. His betrayal and death had been horrible so it was good to see the two had been reunited. It was amusing to see the one-time General's eyes go wide. "It was rather shocking to wake up on the beach when I'd been in Scotland. I met Ash while there but eventually ended up back in this time, figured I'd never see him again. I moved out here for college and Julian was my teacher and student adviser."

Kyrian was shocked, this boy had known Ash when he was mortal? It was utterly incredible. And yet…...he hadn't seen much of Ash lately but when he had seen him he seemed different…. happier. Harry explained that if they had been friends so long ago. But how could a human time travel? Someone or something had sent him back but why? To befriend Ash or for something else? Was it a good thing that the two had been reunited or would it lead to worse things for Ash?

* * *

Ash frowned, something was very wrong. Talon was not one to shirk his duties. And to say Ash had told him too…. He had a very bad feeling about this. Though it was amusing how the poor Celt had been run over by a float. Nick was being a pain over Valerius being the new Dark-Hunter in town to replace Kyrian and having Zarek around wasn't making life any easier. He hesitated before heading for Harry's, finding his friend sprawled on his couch with a book and a pot of tea. Harry put the book down and sat up as soon as he appeared. "What's wrong?"

"Everything?" He settled into the armchair with his legs stretched out in front of him, letting his hair fade from blue to his natural blonde. Harry was the only person he willing let see his true appearance.

Harry leant forward, worried for Ash. "What do you mean?"

So Ash explained about Mardi Gras and the normal threats during the city wide party. "You know; I've had a really wonderful night tonight. I got to tell Kyrian and Julian that Valerius is in town and spent, oh I don't know, three, four hours trying to keep them from going after the Roman. Then, just when I could relax and do my job, I find out there are Daimons in the swamp and no Talon to kill them. And why wasn't Talon here? Because Tarzan was swinging off a balcony to save Jane from Cheetah. Now all I can do is stand here and say, next fiasco, please, right this way." He groaned and Harry chuckled. "It's not funny! Thankfully the bears managed to fix things before he became too much of an internet star."

"What can I do to help?"

"Harry…"

"I'm serious. You need to relax and stop worrying about everything so tell me what I can do."

Ash seriously thought it over and then winced. Could he ask Harry to do it? "Think you could play Squire without killing Zarek? I need someone to keep an eye on him." He felt guilty for leaving him in that house alone but few could stand him for very long.

"My temper's not that bad, I didn't wipe out most of Atlantis did for their treatment of their slaves did I?" Harry smiled and the stood up. "So what does a Squire do?"

* * *

Harry knocked on the door and waited a while before knocking again, finally it was opened and Harry found himself staring into black eyes that held more rage than he'd seen in a long time. "You must be Zarek, I'm Harry. Ash sent me."

"Why?" He snarled, wanting the human to leave.

"Because you need a Squire apparently. I volunteered so here I am." He shrugged, not letting Zarek's attitude affect him.

Zarek frowned, he wasn't allowed a Squire. He was too dangerous and unpredictable; he might kill them. So what the hell was Acheron playing at? "Go home, I don't need you."

"Yes you do." Harry answered softly. "You don't want me here but you need me to be here. There's a difference." He simply slipped around Zarek and looked around the fairly empty place. "For starters let's get this place warmed up and then a nice hot meal. Ash gave me your number but you'll need mine in case of problems while you're out." Harry said as he turned the thermostat up and then headed for the kitchen with the grocery bags he'd been carrying. Zarek followed him in shock. What the hell was happening? Soon the smells coming from the stove had his mouth-watering in anticipation and he watched as…Harry set the table for one. He swallowed, clenching his fists in anger, he was going to eat in front of him? "Well sit down Zarek, almost done. Don't think I'm letting you go out without a good meal in you." He plated up and put it on the table before going to clean up. "I'm going to look around and see what else needs doing. Hope you like that." With that Zarek was alone in the kitchen with the marvellous smelling food.

Harry made it into the living room and then leant against the wall, eyes closed as he breathed deeply. He'd seen that expression before, on his own face as the Dursley's stuffed themselves in front of him while he starved. He saw the bedding on the floor and shook his head, gathering everything he headed upstairs and found the master bedroom. He finished setting the room up for Zarek and then claimed the bedroom two down the hall as his own, not wanting to crowd the older man too much. The townhouse was slowly heating up thankfully, it had been cold enough he'd been using a warming charm! He knew Zarek was used to artic conditions but he should enjoy the heat while he could. Harry was determined to do everything he could to ensure Zarek earned a reprieve from Alaska but he doubted it would be easy. Compared to the Dark-Hunter's past his was a fairy tale. A little bit of magic here and there had the place feeling homier at least so he went back downstairs to find Zarek had finished eating and was looking for his things. "They're in the master bedroom upstairs. There is no way I am letting you sleep on the floor or couch. I've got the room two down from it if you need me while I'm sleeping."

"You might want to rethink that boy." Zarek snarled and Harry drew himself up to his full height, staring him down with no fear.

"Do not call me boy again." He stated coldly and Zarek actually found himself feeling intimidated by the human. Which was just ridiculous, wasn't it? "I am here as a favour to Ash and because no one deserves to be totally alone. I am not here as a servant or slave."

Okay Zarek was a little impressed. But it didn't matter, he knew the real reason this Harry was there, to keep him out of trouble. No one wanted him in New Orleans, he knew everyone pretty much wanted him dead and this was his last chance. "Whatever. I'm going out."

"Call if you need me." Harry called after him and then sighed as the door slammed. He needed to find a way to get through to him, he didn't want Ash to live with the pain of having to have anyone killed and Harry didn't want him to die either. He wasn't against killing like Dumbledore, he'd seen how that came back to bite you in battle, but he didn't like needless killing.

_TBC…_


	10. Chapter 10

_Disclaimer: Not mine_

**Chapter 10**

If there was one thing he had learnt it was that fighting made you hungry so, he was making a light yet healthy and filling meal for Zarek once he returned from patrol. He wasn't entirely sure how to deal with the man but he would not let him walk all over him. and then he swore as the monitoring charm he'd tagged him with went off. He disillusioned himself before apparating to his location only to snarl in rage as he saw the two cops beating him and Zarek fighting to keep from hitting back. Dark Hunters weren't meant to harm humans. So Harry came up behind them, dropped the spell and knocked them out. He then quickly wiped their memories of Zarek and grabbed him, apparating straight back to the house where he pushed him onto the bed and went to work on the shocked man's injuries.

"How did you do that?" Zarek demanded.

"Magic." Harry answered as he finished up. "You'll be fine by morning though what did you do to end up with the cops attacking you?"

"There were Daimons in the alley, tracking Talon's girl." He answered after sitting in silence for a while.

"I'll let Ash know. Get some sleep."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you help me?"

"It's why I'm here and it was the right thing to do." He answered before leaving the room and pulling out his phone. He dialled Ash's number and sighed when there was no answer. He agreed with his friend, something odd was happening in New Orleans.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Harry slipped into the club he'd found Zarek outside of the night before. He figured if they were after the owners' daughter he could give some extra security. At least he'd finally gotten through to Ash who had agreed to his helping keep Sunshine safe. He glanced around the club and spotted her from the picture Ash had sent him. He went to the bar and ordered a coke, stupid American drinking age. He then saw a tall man walking towards her and one glance at his eyes identified him.

As Talon walked back to Sunshine, his entire being ached. He couldn't stand the thought of what Eros was about to do. It cut him on a level so deep it was unfathomable. But it had to be done. They couldn't be together. It was foolish to think otherwise. He had to do this to save her life. From the corner of his eye, he saw Eros appearing in god-form. Invisible to humans, the god of love was easily discernible to Talon's Dark-Hunter senses.

"You sure?" Eros's voice echoed in his head.

Talon leaned over, kissed Sunshine gently on the lips, and then nodded. He held her face in his hands, and stared at her brown eyes, waiting for the moment when they would turn dark with hatred. Waiting for her to stiffen and curse him. Eros raised his bow up and shot it straight into Sunshine. Talon swallowed as painful expectation tore through him. Goodbye, my love.

She grimaced at him. "Ow! Talon, did you hit me?" He shook his head and waited for the hatred to come into her eyes. It didn't. Seconds ticked by slowly as her frown deepened. "I don't feel right." She rubbed her heart where Eros had shot her. Then, amazingly, she looked up and focused her gaze on Eros. "Cupid?"

Eros looked around nervously. "You can see me?"

"Well, yeah," she said.

Eros shifted and looked a bit green.

Talon frowned as a bad feeling went through him. "What happened, Eros? Why doesn't she hate me?"

Eros looked even more uncomfortable. "You two wouldn't happen to be soulmates, would you?"

"Yes," Sunshine answered. "Psyche said we were."

Eros gave a sheepish grin. "Oops. I think I need to have a talk with my wife. Damn, she should have told me."

"Oops?" Talon repeated. "Eros, oops better not be in your vocabulary."

Eros cleared his throat. "No one told me you two were soulmates. See, this"-he held up his bow-"only works on lust and infatuation. Soulmates are a whole 'nother ball game. That kind of love, I can't kill. Nothing can."

Sunshine gaped as she understood what was going on. In that moment, she wanted to strangle Talon. "You tried to get him to make me hate you?"

Now Talon looked as sheepish as Eros. "Honey, I can explain."

She glared at him as rage rocked every particle of her body. "Oh, you're going to explain all right. How dare you try to monkey with my mind and heart? I don't appreciate your doing something so underhanded."

"Sunshine," her father said. "He's right. You can't have a future with him. He's not human."

"I don't care what he is. He and I have something together and I can't believe he'd do something like this."

"I forbid you to see him anymore." Her father's tone was stern.

She turned her anger toward her father. "And I'm not thirteen. I don't care what you forbid or not, Daddy. This is between me and him."

"I will not watch you die again," Talon said slowly, stressing each word.

"And I will not be manipulated. Nor will I just give you up."

Talon turned and stormed out of the club, his emotions churning. He couldn't do this. He couldn't. He had to let her go. It was for both their sakes.

Harry watched Sunshine run after her Dark Hunter and sighed, he felt sorry for them. At least he'd hit them both as well as her Dad with trackers. He was so glad classes were light at the moment or he'd be dead on his feet with all this running around.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Harry appeared beside Ash and then ducked as a Daimon went sailing overhead. "What the hell?" He grumbled as he kicked another and then transfigured a stick into a blade, taking its head off.

"Daimon's obviously." Ash answered and Harry rolled his eyes even as a bunch of wolves fought too. "Wolves?"

"Katagaria den. Damn it, where's Talon?" Ash sent a few bolts of power out, disintegrating several of the attackers.

"With Sunshine. He tried to have Eros kill her love for him, didn't work and they had a big fight. Apparently make up sex is fun though." He answered as he turned the ground beneath a group to quick sand. He really didn't need that much detail, he needed to work on those trackers. After what felt like hours but was only minutes the last Daimon died. Hearing cries of distress and anger they moved that way to see two men cradling the form of a female wolf close, her pups around them. Harry knelt beside them and one of them growled.

"Let him help Vane." Ashe called out and the now named man grudgingly allowed him close. Harry scanned her and then began casting every healing spell he knew.

"Ash I need the blue bag that's under my bed." He called and Ash vanished before returning with it. Harry rummaged through it before withdrawing a vial of clear liquid. "Get her to swallow this." He ordered and Vane took the via, gently coaxing it down her throat.

"What is it?" the other man asked.

"Phoenix tears, most powerful healing magic there is."

"Phoenix?"

"Yep." Harry answered, smiling as his scans gave back more positive readings. "Give it a few days and she'll be back too normal." He reassured the men who were obviously brothers. He looked over the pups but there was nothing he could do for any of them, he glanced at Ash who shook his head, he couldn't or wouldn't help them. The two men left the wolves alone to grieve.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Ash he stared at Talon. "You almost look normal tonight. Are you going to stay that way?"

"I told you I could contain myself." So far, it was working. Talon was at peace with the fact that come the dawn he'd be having it out with Camulus. When Ash stepped forward to speak, it dawned on Talon that Zarek was nowhere to be seen. Was he upstairs too? "Where's Zarek?" he asked Ash.

"I have him guarding Sunshine."

Now that destroyed his calm. "Like hell!" Talon roared.

"Trust me, Talon. I believe in Zarek to do the right thing."

Talon's response was emphatic. "I don't trust him. At all. And after this, I'm not sure if I trust you."

"Enough of the bickering," Ash said. "Just do as I told you and everything should work out."

"Should?" Talon asked.

When Ash spoke, there was an odd note in his voice that made Talon wonder how much more Ash knew than he was telling them. "We have predestinies, Talon, but human will can circumvent them. If everyone does as I've instructed, then things should work out the way they're meant to."

Talon clenched his teeth. "And if we don't?"

"We're all screwed."

"Gee, Ash," Nick said sarcastically, "you're just so damn comforting."

Ash gave him a wry look. "I try to be anyway."

Nick's answer was flat. "You fail admirably."

Talon was still stewing.

Ash spoke to all of them. "What I need everyone to know is that we have a truly sinister night ahead of us. It seems Dionysus and Camulus have combined their forces to try and get themselves reinstated to their full godhoods."

"How are they planning on doing that?" Valerius asked.

"The two of them aren't strong enough to do it on their own. They need the power of a third god to aid them."

"What god?" they all asked simultaneously.

"Apollymi."

"Who the hell is Apollymi?" Talon asked. "I've never even heard of her."

One corner of Ash's mouth turned up wryly. "She's an old god who dates back to my time. One who has powers over life, vengeance, and death. The Atlanteans affectionately referred to her as the Destroyer."

"Is she like Hades?" Valerius asked.

"Oh no," Ash said ominously, "this god makes Hades look like a Boy Scout. Apollymi finishes off her victims with an iron hammer and commands an army of malformed demons.

"The last time someone freed her, plagues and suffering permeated the world and she sent Atlantis straight to the bottom of the sea. She headed across Greece, laying waste to the entire country, and setting them back culturally thousands of years before she was finally returned to her holding cell. The Destroyer will unleash holy hell on this earth. Starting with New Orleans."

"Oh goodie," Nick said sarcastically. "I just love knowing about these things." Ash ignored him.

"So how do they intend to free the Destroyer?" Talon asked.

Ash took a deep breath. "The only way to do that is with the blood of an Atlantean."

"Your blood," Talon said. It was a given, since Ash was the only Atlantean left alive.

Ash nodded. "At midnight, the threshold between this plane and the one where she lives will be thin enough to breach. If they unleash her..."

"Anyone else have an ulcer?" Nick asked.

Talon ignored his question. "How do we stop them?"

"With a lot of faith and by doing exactly what I tell you to do."

Nick snorted at that. "Does anyone other than me think that Ash is being just a little too vague about all this?" Everyone except Ash raised their hands.

"You're not funny," Ash said to them.

Ash looked to Valerius. "I need you on the streets with the Peltiers. At eleven-thirty, Dionysus is planning to unleash his Daimons on the population in order to distract us. Slay any of them you find.

"Nick," Ash said, "I want you and Eric ready to mobilize if you're needed." The Squires nodded.

Ash put his sunglasses on. "Talon, you stay with me. You and I are going after Dionysus and his crew."

"Just out of curiosity," Talon said, "how do you know all this?"

Ash ignored him. "All right, children," Ash said, "head out and guard the streets."

"Just one question?" Eric asked him.

"Sure."

"Maybe I'm being dense but why are these guys after power now? Why didn't they do this last year or at some other time? Why wait?"

Ash's answer wasn't comforting in the least. "This isn't the first time they've tried to take their powers back. This is just the best shot they've had at succeeding."

"Okay," Eric said slowly. "So what happened to their powers to begin with?"

Talon answered for Ash. "When a god ceases to be worshiped, their powers diminish. If a god is defeated by another god, then a chunk of his powers is absorbed by the victor and he loses his ability to regain his former position."

Eric nodded. "Okay, one last thing. What happens if they do regain their powers?"

Ash looked away. "Let us hope we don't find out."

"Why?"

"Because according to Atlantean myth, the Destroyer is supposed to be the one who will bring about Telikos-the end of the world. No doubt Dionysus and Camulus are thinking that Apollymi will be so overcome with gratitude when they release her that she won't think twice about joining them and sharing her power with them." A new voice answered and they turned to find a young man standing in the doorway. Ash nodded at the newcomer, an actual smile on his face.

"You sure about this?" Ash asked.

"You know I've been bored lately Ash. Saving the world is what I grew up doing."

"Okay who is this?" Nick asked.

"Harry." The young man answered calmly. "Where do you want me?" He asked Ash.

"On the streets with Valerius and the Peltiers. If I call though."

"I'll come running." Harry agreed.

Ash nodded and then turned the conversation back to the explanation. "What they don't know is that there was a really good reason why Apollymi was imprisoned by the Atlantean gods. Even the other gods feared Apollymi's wrath, and in the end, she killed them all. Whatever we do, we can't ever let her escape. If they free her tonight, everything you know about this existence will change. Everything."

"Gotta love saving the world," Talon said. "Another day in the life."

Ash took a deep breath. "And on that note we have things to do."

Talon nodded, but in his heart, he wished he could see Sunshine one more time. He didn't want to die without seeing her face again. Duty, how it reeked.

Valerius headed out first. Talon, Nick, and Eric went out through the back door with Ash and Harry pulling up the rear. As Ash left the house, the back door slammed shut, catching the tail end of his long black coat. Ash jerked to a stop and cursed.

Nick howled with laughter at the sight of Acheron trapped. "Don't it take the bad-ass right out of you?"

Ash arched a brow. The door opened by itself, freeing his coat, then it slammed shut again.

Nick sobered instantly. "And that puts it right back in you."

Ash ruffled Nick's hair like an older brother. "Watch our backs and soothe Amanda's nerves until Kyrian returns."

"You got it."

Ash, Harry and Talon left the ornate courtyard and headed into the crowd of tourists and locals who were as thick as fog. There were hundreds of people out. Hundreds who had no idea that the very fate of the world rested in the hands of the two men dressed in black who were making their way slowly through them.

Two men who were tired tonight. Weary. One because he had long ago ceased feeling anything except the heavy burden of his responsibilities.

Ash wanted nothing more than one single day to just lie down and rest. One day to find a moment's worth of comfort. He'd spent eternity waiting for a second chance. Waiting for an escape from the wreckage of his past and the damnation that made up his future. Tonight, he had to face his brother for the first time in eleven thousand years. The two of them had never been on equal footing. Styxx had hated him since the moment of his birth. For Ash, this was going to be a long, long night. But then he felt Harry's hand brush his, their fingers briefly entangling and he looked over to find the wizard smiling softly at him and he felt better. Harry gave him hope that they would all make it out alive. He squeezed Harry's hand before the other man moved away to begin hunting.

Talon's thoughts were on Sunshine. On the gentle curve of her face. The beauty of her touch. Was she in her loft painting? Was she thinking of him? 'I love you.' Her words tore through him. Talon clenched his teeth, wishing he were touching her. Hoping that at the end of this night she would be safe from Camulus forever.

"Faith, Talon," Ash said as if he knew his thoughts.

"I'm trying." Talon took a deep breath. His death didn't concern him. It was Sunshine he couldn't allow to die. Right or wrong, he would see this through, and come morning she would be safe. No matter what it took.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Zarek led her in through a back door and up a series of stairs. He opened a door at the end of the hallway and let her enter first. Sunshine stepped inside. At first glance, she thought the tall blond man was Acheron with a new hair colour. But when she saw Camulus standing by his side, she knew it wasn't. It was Styxx who was standing between Camulus and a brunet man she didn't recognize. Sunshine turned to run. Zarek closed the door ominously and took up a blocking position before it. The look on his face told her that he had no intention of letting her pass through him.

"Come in, come in, said the spider to the fly," Camulus said.

Sunshine lifted her chin as she faced the men. Camulus was extremely handsome, but he had a smile that was pure evil. Even more so than Zarek and that was hard to accomplish. The man she didn't know was humongously tall with light brown hair and a goatee. He had an extremely refined, well-bred look to him. "I'm going to take a wild guess that you are Dionysus," Sunshine said, remembering what Selena had once told her about the patron god of Mardi Gras.

He smiled as if flattered she knew him. "Guilty."

Camulus let out a long breath. "She's so bright. It's almost a shame to kill her. But... oh well."

"You can't hurt her," Zarek said from the door. "You promised me she wouldn't be harmed if I brought her here."

"So I lied," Dionysus said. "Sue me."

Zarek started for the god, but Sunshine stopped him. She wasn't really sure why she did that, it just seemed as if he were the closest thing to an ally she had in that room. She turned back to Camulus, knowing exactly how he planned to hurt Talon tonight. "I'm not going to let you kill me in front of Talon." They all laughed. All except for Zarek.

"You can't stop us," Camulus said.

Zarek glanced down at her, then did a double take as his dark gaze fell to her necklace. "Uh, gods, I think you've forgotten something."

Dionysus curled his lip. "We forget nothing."

"Oh, okay," Zarek said sarcastically, "then you must already know that she wears a Marking Medallion." They sobered instantly.

"What?" Camulus snarled.

Sunshine pulled her grandmother's necklace out of her shirt and held it up to them. She couldn't really believe it might help her, but hey, anything at this point was worth a try. "My grandmother said that the Morrigan would always protect me."

Camulus cursed. "Oh, this ain't right." He cursed again.

"This thing really works?" she whispered to Zarek.

"More than you know," he whispered back. "He can't kill you without making the Morrigan angry."

"Well, who knew?" she said, amazed by the knowledge. "Cool."

"Yup," Zarek concurred. "Better than a cross with Dracula."

She beamed. "Does it work against Dionysus too?" He nodded. Oh, this was good. Very, very good. "Okay, then, let's talk."

"Talk about what?" Dionysus hissed.

"Not you. Him." She indicated Camulus with a nod. "I want to talk about Talon's curse."

Camulus's eyes blazed at her. "What about it?"

"I want you to lift it."

"Never."

She held her medallion out to him. "Do it or..." She gave Zarek a sideways glance. "Does this have any power to hurt him?"

"Only if he hurts you first."

Damn. What kind of protection was that? She needed to have a talk with whoever came up with these things.

A calculating glint lightened Camulus's eyes. He sighed as if bored. "Oh well, since I can't kill you, I guess I'll have to content myself with killing Talon instead."

Terror consumed her. "What?"

Camulus shrugged nonchalantly. "It's rather pointless to let him live happily ever after with you when my intent was to make him suffer. Since you can't die, he'll have to."

Her hand shook as she held the medallion in her suddenly sweaty grip. "Won't Artemis be mad if you kill one of her soldiers?"

He looked at Dionysus, who burst out laughing. "Artemis, darling that she is, would most definitely care. However, she won't start a war with the Celtic pantheon over it. Unlike me, Cam is safe from her wrath."

"Doesn't it just reek?" Camulus asked. His happy smile belied his dire words.

Sunshine wanted to cry. This couldn't be happening. By saving herself, she had condemned Talon to die. No! She couldn't let this happen. "Okay, there has to be another way."

Camulus narrowed his eyes as if thinking about the matter. "Perhaps there is. Tell me, Sunshine. How much does Talon's happiness mean to you?"

"Everything," she said sincerely.

"Everything. Well, that certainly is a lot." His look turned steely cold, frightening. "Does it mean as much to you as your own soul?"

"Sunshine," Zarek said. "Don't."

"You, heel," Dionysus snarled.

Zarek cracked his knuckles. "Don't tell me what to do. I don't like it."

Sunshine ignored them. "What are you saying to me, Camulus?"

He tucked his hands into his pockets and acted as cool as someone chitchatting about the weather, not sealing the fate of her immortal destiny. "A simple trade. I lift his curse. You give me your soul."

Sunshine hesitated. "That seems easy."

"It is."

"So what are you going to do with my soul once you have it?"

"Nothing at all. I'll keep it with me, just like Artemis keeps Talon's."

"And my body?"

"A body doesn't need a soul to function."

Zarek put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't do it, Sunshine. You can't ever trust a god."

"Sure you can," Styxx said. "Trusting them is the best thing I ever did."

"I don't know," she breathed, searching her heart and mind, trying to decide what she should do.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

One instant they were on Bourbon Street, the next they were outside a warehouse. "What did you do?" Talon asked, wondering how many people had seen them vanish.

"I'm doing what I have to. Don't worry, no one saw us leave or arrive. I don't make those kinds of mistakes."

Talon hoped so. Ash held the door open for him and Talon led the way into the building. They were halfway through the main room when something akin to lightning flashed from upstairs. Screams rent the air. Talon lost his calm as he sprinted for the stairs with Ash hot on his heels. They rushed through a door and were almost run over by Zarek who was covered in blood and carrying Sunshine in his arms.

"What the hell?" Talon asked, terrified by the sight. "What happened to her?"

Before Zarek could answer, the door was blown from its frame. "Run!" Zarek shouted.

No one had a chance. A swarm of hideous winged demons flew into the room. Talon cursed. He'd never seen anything like them. They were the colour of rust and screeched like banshees as they flew at them. They had three barbed tails that they wielded like whips. Acheron held his hands up and blasted them with electrical energy. They recoiled, but kept coming. "Get Sunshine out of here," Acheron ordered.

They headed back to the stairs only to find Daimons coming up from below. Talon tossed two srads, taking out four of the creatures, but it didn't even slow them down. "We're surrounded."

Acheron spoke in a language Talon couldn't understand. The demons paused and flew around as if dazed by his order. "It won't hold the demons for long," Ash shouted, his voice barely discernible over the ethereal flapping of wings and claps of thunder. Ash threw his hands up and the Daimons ran into what appeared to be an invisible barrier between them.

Talon led Zarek down the hallway, hoping to find another way out of the building. He shoved open a door to a smaller room.

"I think she's dying." Zarek's voice sent an electric chill through him.

"She's not dying."

"Talon, I think she's dying," he repeated.

The demons forgotten, Talon took her from Zarek's arms and laid her carefully on the floor. Her face was so pale that it shook him. "Sunshine?" he breathed, his heart pounding. "Baby, can you look at me?"

She did, but instead of the vibrancy he was used to seeing, he saw pain and deep regret. "You're free, Talon," she whispered. "I made him break the curse."

"What?"

"She traded her soul to Camulus so that he would set you free." Zarek curled his lip at him. "I told her not to do it, that it was a trick. She didn't listen and as soon as she agreed, the bastard blasted her."

Talon choked. "No!" he roared at both of them. "Sunshine, why?"

"He said he would kill you. I thought he would just take my soul, Talon. I didn't know he would do this. I didn't know he couldn't take possession of my soul without killing me first."

Talon tore the medallion from Sunshine's neck. "Damn you, Morrigan," he shouted, throwing it against the wall. "How could you forsake her too?"

She pressed her cold hand to his lips, "Shh, baby. Don't say that. It's my fault."

"I told her there's always a catch. But she didn't ask the right questions."

Tears flowed down Talon's cheeks as he watched her struggle to breathe. Over and over in his mind he remembered every moment of their time together, both in this life and her previous one. He saw Sunshine's bright, tender face the first time they had made love. Saw her wrestling for her easel with Beth. Heard her singing "Puff the Magic Dragon" as she doodled. He took her hands into his and kissed them, with their smell of paint, turpentine, and patchouli. Hands that created breathtaking works of art. Hands that could tear him apart with a simple touch... "I'm not going to lose you again," he breathed. "Not like this."

Zarek came forward. "What are you doing, Celt?"

"Get away from me."

Talon placed his hands over her chest wound and closed his eyes. He forced himself to calm down, forced his emotions to leave him, and then he summoned his Dark-Hunter powers, and let them wash through him. His immortal strength flowed, surged. It swelled up and moved from his hands into her body. His arms burned as he, in turn, absorbed her injury into his own chest. Normally, it would hurt when he did this. Tonight, the pain was crippling because this wound wasn't a small injury. It was mortal. Gasping from the wrenching agony of his heart being pierced, Talon fell back, away from her, only to be caught and then he felt energy surge through him, the pain dulled but he knew the wound was still there.

Sunshine lay still, waiting for the pain to return. It didn't. Afraid she was already dead, she reached up to touch her chest where Camulus's blast had struck her. There was no longer a wound there. "Talon?" She sat up to see Zarek staring at him. "Oh God, no!" she shrieked as she saw Talon lying in a strangers' arms, bleeding. She scrambled to his side and gently cupped his face. "What have you done?"

"He took your injuries into his own body," Zarek explained. "Now, instead of you dying, he will."

"No, Talon, no! Please don't die," she begged.

"Shh," Talon said quietly. "It's okay."

Ash came running through the door, took one look at them and cursed. "What happened?"

"He took her injuries. I'm all out of phoenix tears and this is beyond my skills." Harry answered, he'd come as soon as he'd finished his fight as he'd felt first Sunshine and then Talon in mortal danger. "I've bought him some time but that's it."

Something struck the door. Hard. "Don't worry," Ash said. "I have a shield on the room. The gods can't pop in here until they breach it."

"Yeah, but at the rate they're going, they'll have the door knocked down any second," Zarek said. He pushed Ash toward Talon. "Go, get him out of here. I've got your backs."

"You sure?" Ash asked. Zarek nodded.

"So help me, Slave," Dionysus snarled from the other side of the door. "I'll see you obliterated for this."

Zarek laughed coldly. "Come get some."

Ash opened the door on the opposite side of the room. Harry looked from Zarek to Ash, silently questioning and Ash shook his head, this was Zarek's fight for now. Between an injured, dying Celt and his woman Ash would need Harry's help. Sunshine was terrified. She didn't know what was happening. She still couldn't believe Zarek had turned around and helped them. Nor could she think past the sight of Talon covered in blood. Everything was happening so fast that she wanted to run away and hide. But she couldn't. Talon needed her to be strong for him and she refused to fail him.

As she started away from Zarek, he called out to her. "Hey, Sunshine?" She looked back at him. "Thanks for the bowl." Then he turned around to wait for the gods to break through Ash's barrier and the door.

Amazed by his actions, Sunshine ran to help Ash and Harry carry Talon down the hallway and into the last room on the left. They laid him carefully on the floor, then Ash used his powers to seal the room.

Sunshine's hand shook as she knelt beside Talon. He was pale and trembling. His entire body was coated with sweat and blood. "Hold on, baby," she whispered, not sure if he could even hear her now. "He's immortal, right?" she asked Ash. "He'll be fine."

Ash shook his head. "His heart is pierced. When it stops beating, he'll die. Again."

His face grim, Ash looked up at the ceiling. "Artemis!" he shouted. "Get your ass here, right now." A flash of light almost blinded Sunshine as the goddess appeared beside her.

Artemis gave Acheron a furious glare. "What is your problem?"

"I need Talon's soul. Now."

She laughed incredulously at him. "Excuse me, Acheron, but you haven't paid the price for it"

"Dammit, Artie, he's dying. I don't have time to negotiate."

She shrugged. "Then heal him."

"I can't and you know it. It's a mortal god-bolt wound. I'm not allowed to interfere with that."

Sunshine felt an electric ripple flow through the room. Rage darkened her sight as she stared at the selfish goddess. Sunshine started to lunge at her, but Harry caught her and pulled her back. Sunshine trembled in fear and anger. Harry too felt rage at seeing the goddess who had hurt Ash so much. But he had no idea if his magic would work on a goddess and didn't want to risk angering her further while Talon's life hung in the balance.

"Give it to me, now." Acheron's deep voice sounded like thunder. "Do it and I'll give you a week of total submission."

A calculating gleam darkened Artemis's eyes. "Give me two."

Sunshine saw the fury and resignation on Ash's face. "Done."

Artemis held her hand out and a large maroon stone appeared in her palm. When Ash went to take it, Artemis pulled it out of his reach. "You will come to me at dawn."

"I will, I swear it." Ash's words sent a chill down Harry's spine. He really, really didn't like the sound of that at all.

Artemis smiled in satisfaction, then handed the stone to Ash. Ash returned to Talon. Then, he met Sunshine's gaze. "Sunshine, you're going to have to take this into your hand and hold it over the brand mark until his soul is released back into his body." She reached for it, but Talon caught her wrist. She hadn't even known he was still conscious until she felt his weakened grip on her arm.

"She can't, Ash."

"Talon!" she said, angered that he was stopping her. "What are you doing?"

"No, Sunshine," Talon whispered, his voice strained. "If you take that, it will scar your hand. It could leave you unable to draw or paint ever again."

Her greatest fear. She looked into Talon's pain-filled eyes. Her greatest love. There was no contest. She grabbed the stone from Ash's hand, then cried out as it seared her flesh. Harry moved, pillowing Talon's head on his thighs so he could look up at Sunshine more easily. He hated being so helpless but only Sunshine could save him now.

"Watch Talon's eyes." She heard Ash's voice inside her head. "And for Zeus's sake, please don't let go of his soul. Focus..." She did and the pain lessened, but still she could feel the fire of the stone searing her hand.

Time stood still as she stared into Talon's jet-black eyes. Memories of this life and of their former one merged in her mind. She flashed back to her own death, to Talon holding her close. She leaned down and kissed him. "I'm with you, love." Talon took his last breath and relaxed. Her own heart stopped beating as raw terror consumed her. Please, please, let this work!

Ash placed her hand over Talon's bow-and-arrow brand mark. Slowly, the heat faded and the stone turned dull in colour. Still, her hand burned. When it was completely cold, she dropped the stone and waited. Talon didn't move. He didn't breathe. He lay there, completely still and unresponsive to her.

"Talon?" she asked, her entire body shaking with the fear that he was gone. Harry moved his hand to feel for a pulse, had something gone wrong? Just when she was sure he was dead, he drew a deep breath and opened his eyes. Sunshine let out a joyful cry as she saw his amber eyes. She hugged him close as the door behind them flew open.

The Daimons, the demons, and the two gods spilled into the room. There was no sign of Zarek anywhere. She only hoped they hadn't killed him. Talon jumped up and put himself between Sunshine and the others. Ash rose to his feet, ready to fight. Harry moved to flank Ash, the recovered blade of Gryffindor now in his hand, maybe gods were vulnerable to basilisk venom too, he could hope.

"It's midnight," Dionysus said with a laugh. "Let the show begin."

The demons moved aside and out of their midst appeared Acheron's "twin." "Hello, Acheron," Styxx said in a tone that was neither kind nor welcoming. "It's been a while, hasn't it? Eleven thousand years or so?"

Talon held his breath. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He had suspected as much, but now the reality of it came crashing down on him. Ash had had a twin brother all this time. Why had he hidden it? And how could Styxx still be alive and not be a Dark-Hunter too? It didn't make sense. Styxx approached Acheron.

Harry stared at the twin he had never met all those years ago. Ash had never spoken of his sibling back then and had barely spoken of him in explaining what he suspected was happening now. Despite the small amount of information Harry was pretty sure he hated this man almost as much as he had Bellatrix.

"Stand down, Styxx," Ash said sternly. "I don't want to hurt you, but I will if I have to. I won't let you release her."

Styxx met Talon's gaze and laughed. "It's like some bad soap opera, isn't it? Good twin, bad twin." His furious gaze returned to Acheron. "But then, we're not really twins, are we, Acheron? We just happened to have shared the same womb for a while." Styxx moved to stand behind Ash who tensed noticeably. It wasn't like Ash to allow anyone, except Harry, to do that to him and yet he appeared to be frozen by some unseen force. Styxx was so close to him that barely a hand separated them. They didn't touch. Styxx leaned forward to speak in a low tone near Ash's ear. "Shall we tell him who the good one is, Acheron? Should I tell him which of us lived his life with dignity? Which of us was respected by the Greeks and Atlanteans and who was laughed at?"

Styxx reached his hand around Ash's neck and placed it in the exact spot where Ash's scar often resided. He pulled Ash back against him so that he could whisper in Ash's ear in a language Talon couldn't understand but Harry did. Ash panted as if in the throes of a nightmare. His eyes were haunted and glazed, his breathing ragged. Still he didn't move to break Styxx's hold.

Talon watched, unsure of what he should do. Surely Ash could handle this. He'd never known of anything Ash couldn't handle.

"That's it, Acheron," Styxx said in English, between clenched teeth. "Remember the past. Remember what you were. I want you to relive it all. Relive every foul thing you ever did. Every tear you made my parents weep for you. Every moment I had to look at you and feel ashamed that you bore my face."

Talon watched as tears filled Ash's eyes and he trembled. He didn't know what secrets Ash hid, but they must be hideous to affect him like this.

Personally, he didn't care what Ash had done in his past. For fifteen hundred years, he had never known Ash to be anything but caring and decent.

Secrets or not, the two of them were friends.

"Let him go," Harry snarled angrily, magic visibly swirling around him. enough was enough.

Styxx cocked his head, but he refused to release Ash. He tightened his grip on Ash's throat. "Do you remember when Estes died, Acheron? The way my father and I found you? I have never been able to forget it. Every time I have ever thought of you, it's the image I have. You're repulsive. Disgusting."

"Kill him," Dionysus ordered, "and open the portal."

Styxx didn't seem to hear him, his attention was fixed on Ash.

Camulus started toward them with a dagger. Talon rushed him and they fought for the weapon. The demons attacked as Styxx continued to taunt and insult Ash.

"Kill him, Styxx," Dionysus ordered again. "Or we'll miss the portal."

Styxx pulled a dagger out from underneath his coat.

His fight with Camulus forgotten, Talon tried to reach them. But he couldn't make it.

Styxx raised his hand and sent the dagger straight into Ash's heart. He buried it all the way to its hilt, except it wasn't Ash the dagger impaled but Harry who had managed to switch places at the last second. He gasped and then coughed up blood and Ash unfroze.

"NO!" he screamed as Harry collapsed and Styxx stared in confusion. Ash moved catching his onetime Master, lover and friend. The dagger shot through the air, bouncing off a wall above Dionysus's head but Ash didn't even look, eyes locked with pained emerald.

In the next instant a shock wave went through the room, knocking everyone off their feet. Styxx was hurled to a far corner while the gods were pinned to the ground. Acheron rose from the floor, to hover spread-eagled several inches above it even as Harry slumped to the ground, unmoving. Unable to stand upright against the unseen force, Talon crawled too Sunshine and held her close so that he could protect her from whatever was happening. No one could stand. Not even the gods.

Lightning bolts shot through Acheron's body, blowing out the windows and the lights. Electrical energy snapped and hissed all around. Acheron laid his head back as bolts of light pierced his eyes and mouth. They seemed to shoot through him and then out, into the room, emitting bright flashes of light.

The Daimons and the demons exploded in one bright flash. A winged dragon seemed to come out from under Acheron's sleeve and wrap itself around him as if it were protecting him. Or perhaps devouring him.

In all his life, Talon had never seen anything like this. But for some reason he didn't find it at all surprising that nothing touched Harry's body.

"What the hell is that?" Camulus asked. "Styxx, what did you do?"

"Nothing. Is this from the portal opening?"

"No," Dionysus said. "This is something else entirely. Something no one told me about." He looked up at the ceiling and shouted, "Artemis!"

Artemis appeared and was immediately pinned to the floor with the rest of them. Talon tightened his grip on Sunshine, who clutched him fiercely as she trembled against him. Artemis took one look at Acheron and her face went flush with anger. "Who's the idiot who pissed off Acheron?" she demanded. The two gods pointed to Styxx. "You fools!" she snarled. "What were you thinking?"

"We needed to kill an Atlantean to raise the Destroyer," Dionysus said. "Acheron's the only one left."

"Oh, you are so stupid!" Artemis snapped. "I knew your plan had to be a bad one. You can't just kill him with a dagger. In case you haven't noticed, he's not human. Where was your brain?"

Dionysus curled his lips at her. "How was I to know your pet was a god-killer? What kind of idiot ties herself down to one of his kind? Besides the dagger ended up in the dead guy, not Acheron."

"Well, gee, what was I supposed to do?" Artemis shot back. "Hook up with Mr. All-powerful God-killer or get myself a Mardi Gras float and hang out with him?" She pointed to Camulus, who looked extremely offended by her comment. "You're such a moron," she said to her brother. "No wonder you're the patron god of drunken frat boys."

"Excuse me," Talon snapped at them. "Could you gods focus for a sec? We have a bit of a situation here."

"Oh, shut up," Dionysus snapped. "I knew I should have backed up when I ran you over."

Talon's jaw went slack. "That was you who hit me with the float?"

"Yes."

"Damn, boy," Camulus said to Dionysus. "You've fallen a long way down. Yesterday Greek god... today incompetent float driver. Sheez, and I hooked up with you? What was I thinking? Artemis is right, what kind of idiot picks a float to mow a guy down so that he can go home with his dead wife? You're lucky you didn't kill him then and blow the entire plan."

"Hey, have you ever tried to drive one of those things? It's not exactly easy. Besides, he's a Dark-Hunter. I knew it wouldn't kill him. I just needed something that would hurt him enough to make her take him home. Need I remind you that it did work?"

Artemis growled at them. "You're so pathetic. I can't believe we share a common gene between us." Shooting a nasty glare at her brother, Artemis struggled against the invisible force that held them down. Like the rest of them, she couldn't reach Ash. "Acheron!" she called. "Can you hear me?"

Disembodied laughter filled the room. Ash leaned his head forward and more lightning flowed through him. The dragonlike beast tightened its grip around him and hissed a fiery breath at the goddess. Artemis tried to climb up his leg, but she was forced back, away from him.

"You know, folks," Camulus shouted. "The idea was to kill Acheron, free Apollymi, and reclaim our god status. Not piss him off and end the world. Personally, I don't want to be ruler of nothing. But if someone doesn't stop this guy, that chant he's making is going to undo life as we know it and un-create the world."

"What are we going to do?" Sunshine asked Talon.

Only one thing came to his mind. He had to bring Acheron to his senses. Talon kissed her lips, then moved away from her. He hadn't gone through death to get her back, only to lose her now. He summoned his remaining powers and allowed them to cocoon him. He no longer had his Dark-Hunter immortality, but he did retain all the psychic powers that had been given to him. Hopefully they would be enough. He rose slowly to his feet. A lightning bolt came at him. Talon deflected it. He moved slowly through the maelstrom until he reached Ash's side. So long as he stayed calm, he seemed to be shielded from Ash's wrath. "Let it go, T-Rex."

Ash spoke to him in a language he didn't understand. "He says to back off or die," Styxx translated. "He's summoning the Destroyer."

"I can't let you do that," Talon said. The laughter echoed again. Wanting to distract Acheron from what he was chanting, and not knowing anything else to try, Talon rushed him. He caught Ash about the middle and knocked him to the floor. The dragon arched up, shrieking. Talon ignored it as he slugged Ash.

Sunshine held her breath as she watched the two of them fighting. The entire building felt as if it were going to break apart. The floor beneath her shook. They were locked together like two great primal beasts and the fate of the world lay in who would win and who would lose. She whispered a prayer as she watched them, awed by the morbid beauty and grace of their battle.

Zarek came through the door, bleeding, and was immediately thrown backward, against a wall.

Artemis tried again to reach Acheron and again he tossed her back while he fought with Talon.

"I'll give the boy credit," Camulus said. "He always was a fighter." Talon stopped fighting as he heard those words. "You never could learn your place, Speirr. You never knew when you should just lay down the sword and play nice." Camulus had been right. Up until now, Talon had never known when to fight and when to withdraw.

Being calm was what had allowed him to reach Ash. Then, he remembered what Acheron had said to him on the night he'd become a Dark-Hunter. "I can show you how to bury that pain so deep inside you that it will prick you no more. But be warned that nothing is ever given freely and nothing lasts forever. One day something will come along to make you feel again and with it, it will bring the pain of the ages upon you. All you have hidden will come out and it could destroy not only you but anyone near you." He wondered now who those words had really been meant for. Him or Ash? He looked up at Acheron and saw the fury of the man who was attacking him. This was what Ash had meant that night. Both of them had kept such a leash on themselves for so long that their fury blinded them to reason. It made them attack when they needed to withdraw and rethink the line of battle.

Closing his eyes, Talon summoned the soothing calm, as Acheron had taught him. Ash rushed him again. This time, instead of fighting, Talon embraced him like a brother. Possessed of a strength and power Talon had never known before, he cupped Ash's face in his hands and tried to make his old friend see him.

Ash's features were no longer handsome or human. They were those of a twisted demon. His eyes were blood-red and yellow, and there was no mercy in them. They were cold. Vicious. The colours swirled and danced like fire. Talon had never seen anything like this before. Who knew Ash had this kind of power? But he had to stop him. One way or another.

"Acheron," a weak voice called. "Enough."

Everyone looked down in shock at where Harry lay, still alive although very pale. He was ever so slowly levering himself up onto his elbows and Sunshine crawled over to support him.

"Harry," he rasped hoarsely. Ash's eyes flickered, then he looked back at Talon who was still holding onto him.

Suddenly, another shock wave shot through the room, this one in the reverse direction from the first. It was as if the unleashed power were drawing back into Acheron. The dragon shot up toward the ceiling, then vanished.

Ash's features transformed back into the face of the man Talon had known these centuries past. Ash blinked his now silver eyes and looked around as if he were waking up from a nightmare.

Without a single comment, Ash stepped away from Talon, wrapped his arms around his chest, and fell to his knees beside Harry and Sunshine. Harry struggled up and gently put his hands on Ash's shoulders and to the shock of everyone Ashe actually leant into his touch.

Artemis turned on her brother with a snarl. "Just you wait till Dad gets his hands on you."

"Me? He knew what I had planned tonight. Wait until I tell him about Acheron!"

Artemis curled her lip. "Oh, shut up, whiny boy." She held her hand out and zapped him out of the room. Styxx shrank back as Artemis turned her gaze to him. "You," she said, her tone thick with loathing.

Styxx gulped audibly. "How can you protect something like him? After I died, I was sent to the Elysian Fields while he was-"

"No concern of yours," she said, interrupting him. "You and your precious family, you turned your backs on him and condemned him for something that wasn't his fault."

"Not his fault? Please." Styxx tried to say something more, but his voice vanished.

"That's better," Artemis said. "Funny, the two of you sound alike and yet you whine. Thank Zeus, Acheron doesn't have that repugnant quality. But then, he was always a man and not a snivelling little child." She backed Styxx against the wall. "I can't believe you. I gave you a perfect existence. Your own island, filled with everything you could ever desire, and what did you do? You've spent eternity hating Acheron, plotting ways to kill him. You don't deserve mercy."

"You can't kill me," Styxx squeaked out. "If you do, Acheron dies too."

"And I curse the day the Fates bound your life force to his." She narrowed her eyes at him as if she wanted nothing more than to splinter him where he stood. "You're right. I can't kill you, but I can make living a worse hell than anything you can imagine."

"What are you going to do to me?" Styxx asked.

She smiled evilly. "You'll see, little human, you'll see." Styxx vanished. Artemis turned to face them. She took a deep breath and seemed to calm down exponentially. "Take care of your soul, Speirr," she said to Talon. "Know that it was purchased for you at a very dear cost." Then she too vanished.

That left them alone with Camulus.

"Well," Talon said to the Celtic god. "It appears your friends have abandoned you."

Camulus sighed. "What a pity. Excess, War, and Destruction. Together, we would have had a high time on earth. Oh well. I shall just have to content myself with taking her from you again. After all, she gave me her soul and now I wish to claim it. And of course, the fun thing about souls, they can only be claimed from a dead body." Camulus started for her. Talon pulled his srads out ready to do battle.

Out of nowhere, a bright flash lit the room. It faded into a form that was almost as dear to Sunshine as Talon's. "Grammy?" Sunshine asked in disbelief moving to stand since Ash and Harry were supporting each other.

Her grandmother stepped between them and Camulus. She faced the Celtic god with a stern glower. " 'Fraid not, hon. You don't own bupkis."

Camulus was aghast at her appearance. "Morrigan? What are you doing here? This doesn't concern you."

"Oh yes, it does." Her grandmother transformed from a little old lady into the beautiful war goddess Talon had met in his days as a mortal man. Talon went cold.

Sunshine sputtered. "Excuse me? What is this?"

Her grandmother looked at Sunshine apologetically. "I didn't mean for you to find out this way, Little Bit, but Acheron and I had to stop them from unleashing Apollymi. And to get Talon free, we needed the two of you here to face Camulus."

Talon gaped. Ash had known all about this? Why hadn't he told him?

The Morrigan turned back to Camulus. "Sorry, Cam. For once you forgot to read the fine print. You agreed with Bran to let Nynia be reborn to mortal parents for your scheme. You never specified that her grandparents be mortal too.

"Since I couldn't help Speirr escape your curse and his bargain without declaring war on you and Artemis, I figured the least I could do was return his wife to him in the body of someone you couldn't touch. Nynia now reborn as Sunshine is flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood. When Speirr drank from her neck, he took my blood into him and now he, too, has my protection." Camulus cursed. Her grandmother wrinkled her nose. "It just reeks, doesn't it? You can't kill her or him unless you want to fight me."

Talon exchanged a stunned look with Sunshine.

"One day, Morrigan. One day..." Camulus flashed out of the room.

The Morrigan took a deep breath, then turned around to face them. "Congratulations, kids."

"I'm free?" Talon asked, still unable to believe it.

The Morrigan nodded. "With your Dark-Hunter powers intact."

Sunshine hesitated. "Is he still a Dark-Hunter?"

"No," her grandmother said. "Artemis released him from his vow when she gave up his soul. Once psychic powers are bestowed on someone, they remain with them forever."

Sunshine smiled. "So he can go out into daylight now?"

"Yes." The Morrigan looked suddenly uncomfortable. "By the way, there's something I need to tell you two."

"What?" they asked in unison, both of them afraid of what she might say.

"Because of the way our pantheon works, the two of you are..." She bit her lip and wrung her hands.

"We are what?" Talon prompted, terrified of what was coming next. When dealing with a god, one could never be too careful.

"You're immortal unless you renounce it."

Sunshine blinked. "What?"

Her grandmother cleared her throat. "You and your brothers were born immortal, sweetie. It's why you still look like a baby even though you're pushing thirty."

"Does that mean Mom's immortal too?" she asked.

"No. Since your father isn't, she decided that she would give up her immortality to age with him. But since it was my blood that gave her immortality, it was passed on from her to you and then from you to Talon."

Joy ripped through Talon. "You mean I never have to watch her die again?"

"Never. Not unless you choose to."

"Oh hell no," Talon said, laughing.

"I figured as much." The Morrigan stepped back. "Well, I'm sure the two of you have a lot to do. Like plan a wedding. Go make lots of babies." She took their hands into hers and then pressed them together. "I expect a large number of great-grandkids from you two."

The Morrigan vanished, leaving them to stare at each other in wonderment.

Sunshine licked her lips as she stared up at him. She couldn't believe everything that had happened tonight. Most of all, she couldn't believe she had Talon for her own. "So what's our first course of action?"

That familiar look came into his amber eyes. "Try to make a baby?"

She laughed at him. "Sounds good, but it'll probably take us the rest of the night to get back to your cabin."

"True, but your loft isn't that far away..."

Sunshine smiled. "No, it isn't." He kissed her hand and then led her from the room. They left the building and blended into the monstrous crowd of Mardi Gras celebrants who were heading home. Sunshine's heart was light as they walked hand in hand, until they reached the street. Gasping, she pulled Talon back as a giant float narrowly missed him. Then she burst out laughing. "What is it with you and the Mardi Gras floats?"

"It's not the floats, love, it's you. Whenever you're around, everything else fades from my notice."

She bit her lip impishly. "You keep talking like that and I'll definitely take you home, lock you up, and throw away the key."

"That's fine with me, just make sure you're naked when you do it."

Harry watched them go and then carefully stood, pulling Ash with him. "You with me?" He asked and Ash stared at him.

"You died again."

"No, just got really close to it. Given time magic can heal nearly anything." He shrugged. "Sometimes being crazy powerful has its advantages." He admitted and Ash pulled him into a hug.

"I don't want to lose you again." He whispered and Harry smiled.

"You won't, not for a long time." Harry promised. Ash smiled and looked to where Zarek was retreating. "I really need a shower. You go do what you have to." Harry vanished and Ash walked out of the room.

Zarek watched as Talon and Sunshine vanished into the crowd. He was happy for Sunshine, but he couldn't understand what the two of them felt for one another. He'd never known any kind of love. "Fuck it," he snarled, limping away from the building. He needed to get back to his townhouse.

"Dionysus will be coming for you."

He paused at the sound of Acheron's voice behind him. "So?"

Ash sighed as he drew near. "Can we not have a truce?"

Zarek scoffed at the thought. "Why? Mutual disdain suits us so well."

"Z, I'm too tired for this. Give me something to use with Artemis. Something that will make her want to give you another chance at civilisation."

Zarek laughed bitterly. "Yeah, right. After what I saw in there you don't honestly expect me to believe that she pulls your chain, do you? How stupid do I look?"

"Things aren't always what they seem."

Maybe, but Zarek wasn't willing to give on this. He'd screwed himself royally tonight. The moment he had turned on the gods, he'd known they would make him pay. Not that he cared. Let them come for him. "Look," he said, turning his back to Acheron, "I'm tired and hungry, and I just want to lie down until my injuries heal, okay?"

"Okay."

Zarek paused as a group of college students stumbled past, laughing and teasing each other. He watched them curiously. They turned a corner and vanished. He looked around at the drunken tourists and locals who were screaming and cheering. It was almost one a.m. now and still the city was alive and vibrant even though the crowd was being told to disperse.

"When do I go back?" Zarek asked, dreading the answer.

"Tomorrow. Nick'll be by to pick you up about two. He'll have a tinted van that can get you out to the airstrip without exposing you to daylight."

Zarek closed his eyes and winced as he thought about returning to Alaska. A few weeks more and spring would arrive. He'd be housebound again. A flash to his left caught his attention. Three seconds later, a Daimon came running through the crowd. The Daimon flashed his fangs and snarled at Zarek as if he had no idea who or what he was facing. Zarek smiled evilly, anticipating what he was about to do.

"What are you?" the Daimon asked when he failed to scare or intimidate him.

Zarek quirked his lips. "Oh please, let me give you the job description. Me, Dark-Hunter. You, Daimon. I hit, you bleed. I kill, you die."

"Not this time." The Daimon attacked.

Acting on instinct, Zarek caught him in the throat and used his claw to kill him. The Daimon evaporated as Valerius came running up through the crowd. The Roman was breathing hard and had obviously been chasing after the Daimon for some distance. Valerius looked at Ash and inclined his head, then he glanced to Zarek and froze. Zarek met his shocked gaze without flinching. Recognition darkened Valerius' eyes as he stood there without blinking, it only took him a few centuries to realise. Zarek gave him a wry smile. "Surprise," he said quietly. "Bet you didn't see that one coming." Without another word, he headed off into the crowd, leaving Valerius and Acheron to their own ends.

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Harry collapsed on his bed in only a pair of sleep pants, still damp but not caring. His hand went to the skin over his heart. Despite the show he'd put on for Ash he wasn't healed, not yet. He could all of his magic surrounding the hole in his heart, regrowing the tissue. He had honestly expected to die when he felt the blade pierce him, this wasn't like the time in the forest, he had no tie keeping him here. So how had he survived long enough for his magic to rally? He rolled onto his side and closed his eyes, he was skipping class tomorrow.

_TBC…._


	11. Chapter 11

_Disclaimer: still not mine_

**Chapter 11**

Ash appeared silently and stared down at the sole occupant of the bed. Harry lay curled on his side, fast asleep. It could almost be that night eleven thousand years ago when he had come to Harry and offered himself to him. Except this time Harry had nearly died for real, taking a knife meant for him. The blade wouldn't have killed him, everything probably would have happened the same except Harry wouldn't have been injured.

Green eyes opened as Harry became aware he was no longer alone but he felt no danger. He looked over to find Ash standing at the foot of his bead, head down and looking very much like the young, scared slave he had once been. He sat up and hesitated before taking a deep breath. "Ash?" He called softly and Ash slowly looked at him. Harry held his hand out to him and Ash ever so slowly raised his own. Harry gently clasped his hand and used it to tug him onto the bed.

Ash allowed Harry to pull him down onto the bed and then he felt his boots and jacket vanish. He was shaking slightly and he couldn't stop it, he shouldn't be reacting like this! He felt Harry curl around him, the heat of his body warming him and for once didn't tense at someone at his back. This was Harry, who had known him when he was nothing, had cared for him and taught him so much. Harry wrapped an arm around his waist and he felt his body relaxing in the familiar embrace.

"It's okay, I'm here. Just rest." Harry whispered, pulling the covers over them and to his surprise Ash found himself falling asleep.

Ash woke slowly, feeling safer than he had since he was mortal, the heat of Harry's body plastered to his back. He found the clock and grimaced, it would be dawn too soon, he didn't want to leave this for what he knew awaited him but he had no choice, he had given his word and he could not break his word. He began working to get up without waking Harry but he felt the wizard tighten his grip.

"Still early." He mumbled and Ash smiled slightly.

"I have to go." He answered, managing to sit up. Harry had never been a morning person; it was nice to see that hadn't changed.

"Why?" Harry asked, finally opening his eyes to blink up at him.

"I gave my word."

Harry frowned and then remembered the conversation while he'd fought to keep Talon alive. "Artemis." Ash nodded.

"Ash you aren't really going to do it, are you?"

"I don't have a choice Harry; I am bound by my word." He honestly didn't want to leave but he literally had no other choice. He glanced towards the window to see things beginning to lighten.

Harry sat up as well and glanced outside. "Need me to hold the fort?" He asked, trying for teasing but sounding worried.

"You have class."

"I happen to be a great multi tasker."

"I'll see you in two weeks." Ash promised and then vanished and Harry slumped back down. That was the best sleep he'd had since returning to the present. He hated letting him go back to that bitch.

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Harry walked into Sanctuary and smiled at Aimee who smiled back in relief. "Harry!" She ran around the bar to look him over.

"What?" he asked in confusion.

"Rumours running rampant that you were stabbed right through the heart." She answered and he winced.

"Ah. Yes, well."

"It's not true obviously or he wouldn't be here." Dev pointed out even as Harry ran a hand nervously through his hair. "Right?"

"Not exactly." He sat at the bar as the siblings huddled in. Out of all the Peltier's he knew and got along best with them. "Ash was going to be stabbed in the heart so I took the blow instead." He absently rubbed his chest. "I…I don't know how it didn't kill me, I could feel it in my heart but when it was pulled out I was okay." The two bears stared at him in shock.

"You sure you're human?" Dev asked and Harry shrugged.

"Far as I know."

"So where is Ash, you two have been pretty inseparable lately."

"He had to leave the country for a while, I promised to not let New Orleans blow up till he's back, which should be in about two weeks." Harry said lightly, not wanting them to know how worried he was. Nick eventually joined him at the bar and ordered some food even as his mother began her shift.

Nick wasn't sure what to think of Harry. He had just shown up and suddenly he and Acheron were best of friends. It had taken Nick years to become Ash's friend and yet this guy did it in weeks. And he was weird, he wasn't a Were-Hunter or Dark-Hunter but Ash trusted him to help out during the trouble with Talon. And according to Kyrian who'd heard from Talon, Harry had been there during the fight. So he couldn't be human, right? He watched Harry wave to Aimee and then leave the bar before turning back to his meal.

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Harry jerked awake and looked around but was alone in his living room where he'd fallen asleep on the couch earlier. There was nothing out of place, his wards were undisturbed but… he looked at the coffee table and then recognised the handwriting on the folded note. He picked it up and opened it to find three words in Ash's hand; _Zarek_, _Aleska_ and _trouble_. He sighed and got up, grabbing his emergency travel bag before reaching out for the tracker he'd put on the man and disillusioning himself before apparating. Except instead of appearing near Zarek he found himself in a town with several Squires milling about as well as a familiar Dark Hunter.

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Thanatos pounded on the door of the remote cabin. On the other side of the door, he could hear low, panicked voices; Apollites rushing to hide their women and children. Apollites who lived in fear of anyone who came seeking them. "I am the light of the lyre," Thanatos said, speaking words only an Apollite or Daimon would know. Words that were used whenever a Daimon or Apollite sought another of his or her kind for shelter. The phrase was a reference to their kinship to Apollo, the god of the sun, who had cursed and abandoned them.

"How is it you walk in the daylight?" It was a woman's voice. One filled with fear.

"I'm the Dayslayer. Open the door."

"How do we know that?" This time it was a man who spoke.

Thanatos growled low in his throat. Why did he want to help these people? They were worthless. But then he knew. Once, long ago, he'd been one of them. He too would have been hiding, afraid of the Squires and Dark-Hunters. Afraid of the pitiful humans who came for them in the light of day... How he hated them all. "I am going to open this door," Thanatos warned them. "The only reason I knocked was so that you could unlock it and then get out of the way of the daylight before I enter. Now either unlock it or I'll kick it down." He heard the lock click. Taking a deep, calming breath, he pushed the door open slowly. As soon as he stepped inside and closed the door, a shovel came at his head. Thanatos grabbed it and jerked hard, pulling a woman out of the shadows.

"I won't let you hurt my children!"

He took the shovel from her and gave her a peeved glare. "Trust me, if I wanted to hurt them, you couldn't stop me. No one could. But I'm not here for that. I'm here to kill the Dark-Hunter who hunts your kindred." Relief washed over her beautiful face as she looked up at him as if he were an angel.

"Then you really are the Dayslayer." The voice was masculine.

Thanatos turned his head to see a Daimon male leave the shadows. The Daimon looked no older than his early twenties. Like all of his breed, the Daimon was a paragon of physical perfection. Beautiful in his youthfulness and physical bearing, his long blond hair was braided down his back. His right cheek was marked with three blood-red tears that had been tattooed there.

Thanatos knew his breed instantly. The Daimon was one of the rare Spathi warriors Thanatos had come seeking. "Are the tears for your children?"

The Daimon gave a curt nod. "Each was slain by a Dark-Hunter. And I in turn slew the Hunter."

Thanatos ached for the man. The Apollites had no real choice and yet they were punished because they dared to choose life over death. He wondered what the humans and Dark-Hunters would do if they were told they had one of two choices: die painfully in the midst of their youth, or take human souls and live. As a mere Apollite, Thanatos had been prepared to die. Just like his wife... Zarek had taken even that option away from his family. Insane, the Dark-Hunter had come through his village, laying waste to everyone in it. The men had barely been able to hide the women and children before Zarek had destroyed them all. No one who had come into Zarek's path had remained alive. No one. Zarek had killed Apollite and Daimon indiscriminately. And for that crime his only punishment had been banishment. Banished! Rage suffused him. How dare Zarek remain living in comfort all these centuries while the memory of that night festered eternally in Thanatos's heart. But he forced that hatred aside. This was no time to let his anger rule him. It was the time to be as cold and calculating as his enemy. "How old are you, Daimon?" Thanatos asked the Spathi.

"Ninety-four."

Thanatos arched a brow. "You've done well."

"Yes, I have. I grew tired of hiding."

He knew the feeling. There was nothing worse than being forced to live in the dark. Living life confined. "Have no fear. No Dark-Hunter will be after you. I'm here to make sure of it."

The man smiled. "We thought you were a myth."

"All good myths are rooted in reality and truth. Didn't your mother teach you that?"

The Spathi's eyes turned dark, haunted. "I was only three when she turned twenty-seven. She didn't have time to teach me anything at all."

Thanatos placed a comforting hand on the man's shoulder. "We will take this planet back, my brother. Rest assured, our day has come once more. I will summon the others of your kind and we will unite our armies. The humans have no one who can protect them now."

"What of the Dark-Hunters?" the woman asked.

Thanatos smiled. "They are bound to the night. I'm not. I can stalk them whenever I choose it." He laughed. "I am immune to their wounds. I am Death to them all and I am now home again with my people. Together, we will rule this earth and all who inhabit it."

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Zarek woke up to the smell of heaven. He would have thought he was dreaming, but his dreams were never so pleasant Lying in bed, he was afraid to move. Afraid the delicious aroma would prove to be a figment of his imagination. His stomach rumbled. He heard the wolf bark.

"Hush, Sasha. You'll wake our guest."

Zarek opened his eyes then. Guest. No one but Astrid had ever called him that before. His thoughts turned to the week he'd spent in New Orleans.

_"Am I staying with you and Kyrian or Nick?"_

_"We thought it best that you have your own place."_

Acheron's words had kicked something inside him he didn't even know he had anymore. No one had ever wanted him near them. He thought he'd learned to not care. And yet Astrid's simple words touched the same foreign part of him that Acheron's had. And then there'd been Harry, the young man Acheron had sent to see to his needs while in New Orleans. He'd seen him try and save Talon and then he'd taken a knife for Acheron. He'd saved Zarek from the police or having to break his oath again by harming humans in order to get away. He hadn't seen Harry since the fight but like Sunshine he thought maybe he would have liked to say thank you, for the food, company and help. He shook those thoughts off and back onto his odd host. Getting out of bed, he dressed, then went to find her. Zarek stood in the doorway, watching her as she made pancakes in the microwave. She was amazingly self-sufficient given her blindness. The wolf looked at him and growled.

Astrid cocked her head as if listening to see if she could hear him. "Zarek? Are you in the room?"

"Doorway." He didn't know why he told her that. He didn't know why he was still here. Granted, the storm was still ferocious, but he'd journeyed through many such storms during the centuries when he had lived up here without modern conveniences. There was a time not that long ago when he would have had to scrounge for food in the dead of winter. Melt snow so that he would have something to drink.

"I've made pancakes. I don't know if you like them, but I have blueberry and maple syrup or fresh strawberries if you'd rather." He went to the counter and reached for a plate. "Sit, I'll bring it to you."

"No, princess," he said sharply. Having been forced to serve others, he refused to have anyone serve him. "I can fix it myself."

She held her hands up in surrender. "Fine, Prince Charming. If there's anything I can respect, it's those who take care of themselves."

"Why do you keep calling me that? Are you mocking me?"

She shrugged. "You call me 'princess,' I call you 'Prince Charming.' I figure turnabout is fair play."

Giving her a grudging amount of respect, he reached for the bacon that was lying on a saucer by the stove. "How do you fry this when you can't see it?"

"The microwave. I just push the timer for it."

The wolf came over and started sniffing at his leg. It looked up at him as if it were offended and started barking at him. "Shut up, Benji," he snarled. "I don't want to hear about my hygiene from someone who licks his own balls."

"Zarek!" Astrid gasped. "I can't believe you just said that."

He clenched his teeth. Fine, he wouldn't speak anymore. Silence was what he was best at anyway. The wolf whined and yapped.

"Shh," she soothed. "If he doesn't want to bathe, it's none of our business."

His appetite gone, Zarek set his plate on the table and returned to his room where he couldn't offend them anymore.

Astrid felt her way to the table, expecting to find Zarek there. All she found was his plate of uneaten food. "What happened?" she asked Sasha who flashed form wolf to human to speak to her softly enough the Hunter wouldn't be able to hear.

"If he had feelings, I would say you hurt them. Like as not, he went back to the room to find a weapon so he can kill us."

"Sasha! Tell me what happened just now."

"Okay, he put the plate down and left." Sasha leant against the counter and quickly ate some of the pancakes, enjoying them more in human form.

"What did he look like?"

"Nothing. He didn't show any kind of emotion."

That didn't help her at all. She went after Zarek. Sasha just shrugged an finished eating before returning to wolf form.

"Go away," he snapped after she knocked on his door and pushed it open.

Astrid stood in the doorway, wishing she could see him. "What do you want, Zarek?"

"I..." his voice trailed off.

"You what?"

Zarek couldn't speak the truth. He wanted to be warm. Just once in his life, he wanted warmth. Not just physical but mental warmth. "I want to leave."

She sighed at his words. "You'll die if you go out there."

"So what if I do?"

"Does your life truly have no value or meaning to you?"

"No, it doesn't."

"Then why haven't you killed yourself?"

He snorted at that. "Why should I? The only enjoyment I have in my life is knowing I piss off everyone around me. If I were dead, it would make them all happy. God forbid I should ever do that."

To his surprise, she laughed. "I wish I could see your face to know if you were joking or not."

"Trust me, I'm not."

"Then I'm sorry for you. I wish you had something that made you happy."

Zarek looked away from her. Happy. He didn't even understand that word. It was as alien to him as kindness. Compassion. Love. Now there was a word that never entered his vocabulary. He couldn't imagine what others must feel. For love, Talon had almost died so that Sunshine could live. For love, Sunshine had bartered her soul to free Talon. All he knew was hatred, anger. It was the only thing that kept him warm. The only thing that kept him living. So long as he hated, he had a reason to live.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Harry grumbled mentally as he followed the group around, knowing they were looking for Zarek too. Something was keeping him from getting a precise enough lock to apparate to him and it was very annoying. Plus, it was freezing cold in Alaska and he wasn't fond of snow after even Scottish winters. He'd been listening in on their conversation and he didn't like it. They were going to kill Zarek, condemning him to eternity as a Shade and it wasn't right. What had he done to deserve such a sentence? He'd done his job in New Orleans and everything had turned out well. He needed more information but Ash was stuck on Olympus, wonderful timing.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Tears fell down Astrid's cheeks as she felt the warm strength of his hand on hers; as she saw his long, tapered fingers twined with hers. His hand was large, masculine and it enveloped hers with power. Those hands had killed, but they had also protected. They had cared for her and pleasured her. By this simple action, she knew she had finally made contact with him. She had just reached the unreachable. Then the contact was lost.

Zarek's face hardened as he jerked his hand away from hers. "I don't want to be changed. Not by you. Not by anyone." Snarling in anger, he pushed past her and marched out the door.

Astrid did something she had never done before. She cursed. Damn him for not staying. Damn him for being so stupid.

"I told you, he's a hard-ass."

She turned to see M'Adoc standing behind her, staring out the door after Zarek who was trudging shirtless through the snow. "How long have you been eavesdropping?" she asked the Oneroi.

"Not that long. I know when not to intrude on a dream."

She narrowed her eyes meaningfully at him. "You better."

Disregarding her and her unspoken threat, he moved to watch Zarek make his way across the snow. "So what are you going to do now?" he asked.

"Beat him with a stick until he listens to reason."

"You wouldn't be the first one to try that," M'Adoc said dryly. "The thing is, he's immune to it."

She let out a long, weary breath. It was true. "I don't know what to do," she confessed. "I feel so helpless where he's concerned."

Something sagelike flickered behind M'Adoc's pale glowing eyes. "You shouldn't have trapped him here or yourself for that matter. It's dangerous to stay in this realm too long."

"I know, but what else could I have done? He won't stay put and was determined to leave my cabin. You know I couldn't allow that." She paused and gave the Dream-Hunter a pleading look. "I need guidance, M'Adoc. I wish I could talk to Acheron. He's the only one I know who could tell me about Zarek."

"No. Zarek could tell you."

"But he won't."

He met her gaze. "So you're giving up, then?"

"Never."

He gave her a rare smile that let her know he was siphoning off her emotions. "I figured as much. Glad to know you're no longer daunted."

"But how do I reach him? I'm open to any and all ideas and suggestions at this point."

M'Adoc held his hand out and a small, dark blue book appeared in his palm. He gave it to her. Astrid looked at the copy of The Little Prince in her hands. "It's Zarek's favorite book, too," M'Adoc said. No wonder Zarek had been able to quote it to her. M'Adoc stepped back. "It's a book of heartbreak and survival. A book of magic, hope, and promise. Strange that it would speak to him, isn't it?" M'Adoc flashed out of the dream then and left her flipping through the book. She saw that M'Adoc had marked certain passages and paragraphs.

Astrid closed the door and took it to the comfortable recliner that had suddenly appeared in the cabin. She smiled. All the gods of sleep liked to speak in riddles and metaphors. They seldom said anything outright, but made people work for their answers. M'Adoc, the head of the Oneroi, had left her clues in this book. If this could give her any insight into Zarek at all, she would read what he had marked. Maybe then she might have a hope of saving Zarek.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jess ducked into the small convenience store and shook himself like a wet dog coming in from the rain. It was so damn cold up here that he couldn't stand it. How had Zarek survived in Alaska before central heating? He had to give his friend credit. A man had to be hard and dangerous to make his home here without any help from friends or Squires. Personally, he'd rather be pistol whipped and thrown naked into a nest of rattlers.

There was an elderly gentleman behind the counter who gave him a knowing smile as if he understood why Jess had cursed as soon as he entered. The man had a thick head of grey hair and a salt-and-pepper-coloured beard. His old green sweater had snags, but it looked good and warm. "Can I help you?"

Jess lowered the muffler from his face and gave a curt, friendly nod to the man. Manners dictated he remove his black Stetson while indoors, but damned if he'd do that and let even an ounce of his body heat escape. He needed every bit of it. "Howdy, sir," he drawled all polite like. "I'm searching for some black coffee or anything else you've got that's hot. Real hot."

The man laughed and pointed to a coffeepot in the back. "You must not be from around here."

Jess headed for the coffee. "No, sir, and thank God for that."

The old man laughed again. "Ahh, stay up here for a little while and your blood will thicken up enough to where you don't even notice it."

He doubted that. His blood would have to be petrified not to feel this cold. He wanted to get his butt back to Reno before he became the first Dark-Hunter in history to freeze to death. Jess poured an extra-large Styrofoam cup full and headed for the counter. He set it down and dug through the five million layers of coat, flannel shirt, sweater, and long johns to pull his wallet out of his back pocket to pay. His gaze fell to a small glass case where someone had placed a hand-carved statue of a cowboy on a bucking bronco. Jess frowned as he recognized the horse, then the man. It was him. He'd e-mailed a picture to Zarek last summer of him saddle-breaking his latest stallion. Damned if that wasn't an exact copy of the photo.

"Hey," the old gentleman said as he noticed it, too. "You look just like my statue."

"Yes, sir, I noticed that. Where did you get it?"

The man looked back and forth from him to the statue as he compared their likenesses. "The annual Christmas auction we had last November."

Jess scowled at that. "Christmas auction?"

"Every year the Polar Bear Club gets together to raise money for the poor and sick. We have an annual auction, and for the last, oh I don't know, twenty years or so, Santa has been leaving a couple of huge bags of these one-of-a-kind hand-carved statues and figurines that we sell. We figure he must be a local artist or something who doesn't want to let anyone know where he lives. Every month a big money order comes anonymously to our post office box, too. Most of us figure it's the same guy doing it all."

"Santa, as in Claus?"

The man nodded. "I know it's a stupid name, but we don't know what else to call him. It's just some guy who comes around in winter and does good deeds. The police have seen him a time or two carrying the bags up to our centre, but they leave him alone. He shovels driveways for the elderly and carves a lot of those elaborate ice sculptures you've probably seen around town."

Jess felt his jaw go slack, then he quickly snapped it shut before he exposed his fangs to the gentleman. Yeah. He had seen those sculptures. But Zarek? It hardly seemed like something the ex-slave would do. His friend was crusty at best and downright ornery at worst. But then, Zarek had never told him what he did up here to pass the time. Never said much of nothing to Jess really. Jess paid for the coffee, then headed back out to the street.

He walked to the end of it, where one of the ice sculptures rested at an intersection. A rendition of a moose, it stood almost eight feet tall. The moonlight glistened off the surface that was so intricately carved that it looked like the moose was ready to break loose and run for home. Zarek's work? It just didn't seem right. Jess went to take another drink of his coffee only to realize it had already chilled. "I hate Alaska," he mumbled, tossing the coffee to the ground and then wadding up the cup. Before he could find a trash can, his cell phone rang.

He checked the caller ID to see that it was Justin Carmichael, one of the Blood Rites Squires who was up here hunting for Zarek. It seemed once the Oracles got wind that Artemis and Dionysus wanted Zarek dead, they had immediately notified the Council, who in turn had sent out the orneriest bunch of Blood Rite Squires to hunt and kill the rogue Dark-Hunter.

Jess was all that stood between them and Zarek.

Born and raised in New York City, Justin was a younger man, about twenty-four, with a nasty attitude Jess didn't care for much.

He answered the call. "Yeah, Carmichael, whatcha need?"

"We have a problem."

"And that would be?"

"You know the woman who was helping Zarek? Sharon?"

"What about her?"

"We just found her. She was beaten up pretty bad and her house has been burned to the ground. My money says it's Zarek bent on revenge."

Jess's blood went cold. "Bullshit. Did you talk to her?"

"Trust me, she wasn't in any condition to talk when we found her. She's with the doctors right now and we're headed back to Zarek's cabin to see if we can find that bastard and make him pay for this before he hurts anyone else."

"What about Sharon's daughter?"

"She was staying at a neighbour's house when it happened. Thank God. I've got Mike watching over her in case Zarek comes calling again."

Jess couldn't breathe and it wasn't from the frozen bite in the air. How could this have happened? Unlike the Squires, he knew Zarek didn't have any part in this. He alone knew where Zarek really was. Ash had trusted him with the truth of what was going on and had charged him with making sure no one fubarred it until Zarek's test was over. Well, things just went further south than a herd of geese in the fall. "Don't move until I get there," he told the Squire. "I want to go to his cabin with you."

"Why? You planning on getting in our way again when we take him down?"

Those words rubbed him like a herd of porcupines. "Boy, you better take that tone and flush it. I'm not a Squire you're talking to; I happen to be one of the guys you answer to. It ain't none of your damned business why I'm going. You just don't move until I tell you to or I'm going to show you how I once made Wyatt Earp piss his drawers."

Carmichael hesitated before he spoke again. When he did, his voice was nice and cool. "Yes, sir. We're at the hotel and are waiting for you."

Jess hung up the phone and returned it to his pocket. He felt awful about Sharon. She shouldn't have been in any danger at all. None of the Squires would have dared hurt her. And in spite of what the others thought, he knew Zarek wouldn't have done it even if he'd been able to. Zarek just didn't strike him as the type to go after those weaker than him. But then, who else would have dared?

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Ash sat alone in Artemis's temple, just outside her throne room on the terrace where he could look out onto the beautiful, multi-coloured waterfall. His golden-blond hair pulled back into a ponytail, he sat on top of a marble banister with his bare back against a ridged column. Wildlife, safe from hunters and all other danger because of Artemis's protection, grazed in a yard where the ground was made of clouds. The only sound came from the rushing water and the occasional cry of a wild bird. It should be peaceful here and yet for all his serene composure Ash was agitated.

Artemis and her attendants had left him to go to the Theocropolis where Zeus held court over all the Olympian gods. She would be gone for hours. Not even that could please him. He wanted to know what was happening with Zarek's test. Something was going wrong, he knew it. He could feel it, but he dared not use his powers to investigate. He could take Artemis's wrath, but he would never unleash that onto Astrid or Zarek. So here he sat, his powers restricted, his anger and frustration leashed.

"Akri, can I come off your arm for a little while?"

Simi's voice took some of the edge off his raw emotions. Whenever she was part of him, she couldn't see or hear anything unless he spoke her name and gave her an order. She was even immune to his thoughts. She could only feel his emotions. Something that allowed her to know whenever he was in danger, the only time she was allowed to leave him without his permission. "Yes, Simi. You may take human form."

She pulled herself off and manifested beside him. Her long blond hair was braided. Her eyes were a stormy grey and her wings pale blue. "Why are you so sad, Akri?"

"I'm not sad, Simi."

"Yes you are. I know you, Akri, you gots that pain in your heart like the Simi gets whenever she cries."

"I never cry, Sim."

"I know." She moved closer to him so that she could rest her head on his shoulder. One of her black horns scraped against his cheek, but Ash didn't mind. She draped her arms around him and held him close.

Closing his eyes, he embraced her tightly, cupping her small head in one of his hands. Her hug went a long way toward easing his troubled spirit. Only Simi could do that. She alone touched him without making physical demands on him. She never wanted anything but to be his "baby." Childlike and innocent, she was the balm he needed. And yet…he thought back to the hours he'd spent in Harry's bed only a few days ago. He remembered how safe he'd felt as Harry held him, like he had so long ago. Harry had never made demands on him either, he was always giving, teaching him. even now when he was so different to the child Harry had known the wizard was always there, willing to listen and help. But being near him was dangerous, Artemis was lethally jealous of anyone he cared about and if she learnt about their time together on Atlantis…she'd kill Harry.

"So, can I eat the redheaded goddess now?"

Simi's question brought him back to the present. He smiled at her most-often-asked question. "No, Simi."

She lifted her head and stuck her tongue out at him, then flounced over to sit on the railing by his bare feet. "I want to eat her, Akri. She a mean person."

"Most gods are."

"No they're not. Some, true, but I rather like the Atlanteans. They were very nice. Most of them. You never met Archon, did you?"

"No."

"Now, he could be mean. He was blond, like you, tall like you, well, taller than you, and good-looking like you, but not quite as good-looking as you. I don't think anyone is as good-looking as you are. Not even them gods. You are definitely one of a kind when it comes to looks... Oh-" She started as she remembered his twin. "Well... you're not really one of a kind, are you? But you cuter than that other one. He a bad copy of you. He only wishes he was as cute as you are." His smile widened. She placed her finger against her chin and stopped for a minute as if trying to gather her thoughts. "Now where was I going with that? Oh, I remember now. Archon didn't like a lot of people, unlike you. You know that thing you do whenever you get really, really mad? The one where you can blow stuff up and make it all fiery and chunky and messy and all? He could do that too only not with as much finesse as you. You got a lot of finesse, Akri. More than most. But I digress. Archon liked me. He said, 'Simi, you a quality demon.' Have you ever seen a non-quality demon, though? That's what I wanna know."

Amused, Ash listened as she rambled on about gods and goddesses worshiped in his mortal lifetime. Gods and goddesses long dead now. He loved to listen to her nonlinear tales and logic. It was like watching a small child as it tried to sort out the world and remember something. There was no telling from one minute to the next what would come out of her mouth. She saw things clearly, like a child. If you had a problem, you killed it. End of problem. Subtleties and politics were beyond her. Simi just was. She wasn't amoral or vicious, she was just an extremely young demon with godlike powers who had no comprehension of deceit or treachery.

How he envied her that. It was why he shielded her so carefully. He didn't want her to learn the hard lessons that had been dealt to him. She deserved to have the childhood he had never known. One that was sheltered and protected. One in which no one was allowed to hurt her. He didn't know what he would do without her.

She'd been nothing more than an infant when she'd been given to him. Barely twenty-one himself, the two of them had pretty much raised each other. They were both the last of their kind on this earth. For more than eleven thousand years it had been just the two of them. She was as much a part of him as any vital organ. Without her, he would die.

The door of the temple opened. Simi hissed, baring her fangs, letting him know Artemis had returned early. Ash turned his head for confirmation. Sure enough, the goddess was striding toward him. He let out a tired breath.

Artemis pulled up short as she saw Simi sitting at his feet "What is it doing off your arm?"

"Talking to me, Artie."

"Make it go away."

Simi huffed. "I don't have to do nothing you say, you old heifer cow. And you are old. Really, really old. And a cow, too."

"Simi," Ash said, stressing her name. "Please return to me." Simi cast an evil glare at Artemis, then became a dark, amorphous shadow. She moved over to him and laid herself over his chest to become a huge dragon on his torso with fiery spirals that wrapped around and down both of his arms. Ash laughed darkly at the sight. It was Simi's way of hugging him and tweaking Artemis at the same time. Artemis thoroughly hated it whenever Simi covered so much of his body.

Artemis let out a disgusted sound. "Make it move."

He crossed his arms over his chest. "Why are you back so early?" She instantly became nervous. His bad feeling tripled. "What happened?" Artemis walked to the column at his feet, wrapped her arm around it and leaned against the marble. She played with the gilded edge of her peplos as she worried her lip. Ash sat up straight, his stomach knotted. If she was this evasive something had gone mind-blowingly wrong. "Tell me, Artemis."

She looked exasperated and angry. "Why should I tell you? You'll just get angry at me and you practically stay that way anyway. I tell you, then you'll want to leave and you can't leave and then you'll yell at me."

The knot in his gut tightened. "You have three seconds to talk or I'm forgetting about your fear that one of your family members will discover I'm living in your temple. I will use my powers and I will find out what has happened on my own."

"No!" she snapped, turning to look at him. "You can't do that." A tic started in his jaw. She moved back, putting the column between them. She took a deep breath as if for strength, then spoke in the voice of a small, frightened child. "Thanatos is loose."

"What!" he roared, lowering his legs to the floor and coming to his feet.

"See! You're yelling."

"Oh, trust me," he said between clenched teeth, "this isn't yelling. I haven't even come close to it yet." Ash pushed himself away from the banister and paced angrily around the long balcony. It took all his strength not to lash out at her. "You promised me you would recall him."

"I tried, but he got away."

"How?"

"I don't know. I wasn't there and now he refuses to heel."

Ash glared at her. Thanatos was on the loose and the only one who could stop him was under house arrest in Artemis's temple. Damn her for her tricks and promises. There was no way he could leave here. Unlike the Olympians, once he gave his word, he was bound by it.

It would kill him to break his oath. Literally.

Anger roiled through him. Had she listened to him the first time, they wouldn't be reliving this nightmare. "You swore to me nine hundred years ago when I killed the last one that you wouldn't re-create Thanatos. How many people did that one kill? How many Dark-Hunters? Do you even remember?"

She stiffened and returned his glare. "I told you, we needed someone to corral your people. You won't do it. You won't even control your demon. It was the only reason I made another one. I need someone who can execute them when they misbehave. You, you just make excuses for them. 'You don't understand, Artemis. Waa, waa, waa.' I understand, all right. You prefer to tend to anyone but me so I created someone who listens when I speak." She glared meaningfully at him. "Someone who actually obeys me."

Ash counted to ten three times while he clenched and unclenched his fists. She had a way of making him want to lash out and hurt her that came dangerously close to breaching all of his control.

"Don't get me started on that one, Artie. It seems to me 'obey' isn't a word that belongs in the same sentence as your executioner."

Driven mad by his confinement and thirst for vengeance, the last Thanatos had ripped through England with such force that Ash had had to fabricate stories of a "plague" to keep the humans and Dark-Hunters from learning the truth of what had actually destroyed forty percent of the country's population.

Ash raked his hands over his face at the thought of what Artemis had unleashed onto the world again. He should have known when he asked her to recall it that it was too late for her to do so. But like a fool, he had counted on her to do as she promised. He should have known better. "Damn you, Artemis. Thanatos has the powers to gather Daimons and make them do his bidding. He can call them from hundreds of miles away. Unlike my Hunters, he walks in the daylight and is impossible to kill. The only vulnerability he has is unknown to them."

She scoffed at him. "Well, that's your own fault. You should have told them about him."

"Told them what, Artemis? Behave or the bitch-goddess will unleash her insane killer on you?"

"I am not a bitch!"

He moved to stand before her, pressing her back against the column. "You have no idea what you have created, do you?"

"He's nothing more than a servant. I can recall him."

He looked at her trembling hands and the beads of perspiration on her forehead. "Then why are you shaking?" he asked. "Tell me how he got loose."

She swallowed. But wisely gave him the information he sought. "Dion did it. He was bragging in the hall about it right before I came to tell you."

"Dionysus?" She nodded. Ash cursed himself this time. He shouldn't have removed the god's memory of their fight in New Orleans. He should have let the idiot know exactly what he was dealing with. Left Dionysus so scared of him that the Olympian god would never again dare to confront him or any of his men. But no, he'd sought to protect Artemis. She didn't want her family to know who and what he was. To them he was only her pet. A human curiosity, easily discarded and dismissed. If they only knew... He'd removed enough of everyone's memory of that night so they would only recall that a fight had happened and who the winners were. Not even Artemis remembered everything. No…not everyone, Harry remembered, he hadn't even thought to alter his memories when he'd gone to him, too relieved the younger man had somehow survived the knife to his heart. Artemis had promised him Dionysus wouldn't go after Zarek for retribution. But then Artemis had thought to kill Zarek herself. When would he learn? She could never be trusted. Ash moved away from her. "You have no idea what it does to someone to lock them away. To place them in a hole where they're forgotten."

"And you do?"

Ash fell silent as suppressed memories flooded him. Painful, bitter memories that haunted him whenever he dared to think of the past. "You'd best pray that you never learn what it feels like. The madness, the thirst. The anger. You've created a monster, Artemis, and I'm the only one who can kill it."

"Then we're in for a bit of a problem, aren't we? You can't leave." He narrowed his eyes. She stepped back again. "I told you, I will contact the Oracles and have them bring him home again."

"You better, Artemis. Because if you don't get him under control, the world is going to become the very thing that makes you wake up screaming at night."

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Harry felt a shiver of dread run down his spine as they approached Zarek's home, something was out there, something deadly and it was hunting them. It wasn't Zarek, Harry knew the Dark Hunter hadn't attacked the woman, he was still somewhere else. Was this what had attacked her?

Jess left the black Ford Bronco and slid his sawed-off shotgun out from under the seat. Just in case. The night winds were frigid, the moonlight bright and eerie as it reflected off the snow. He adjusted his sunglasses, not that they made much difference. The Alaskan climate was hard on a Dark-Hunter's sensitive eyes.

Zarek's house was dark and empty, but a bright red snow-machine was parked in front of it Jess's Squire, Andy Simms, who had come up here with him from Reno, ambled out of the Bronco and eyed the snow machine suspiciously.

Barely six feet in height with black hair and brown eyes, Andy had just turned twenty-one. He'd only worked for Jess a few months and had come in after Andy's father retired last spring. Jess had known the pup since the day he was born, and tended to look on him like a little brother. Pesky and all. "Is that another Squire?" Andy asked, indicating the snow-machine with a nod.

Jess shook his head. The Squires were in the two SUVs pulling up behind them. They made more noise than a herd of nervous cattle as they left their four-wheel-drives and gathered around him. There were twelve of the Squires altogether, but Jess only knew a couple of them. Otto Carvalletti was the tallest of the group. Standing a cool six feet five inches, he had jet-black hair that was a bit long, but well styled, as if the man spent a lot of time on it. He glared penetratingly at all times, and Jess figured if the man ever did manage to smile, it would crack his face. One half of Otto's family was Italian Mafia while the other half was one of the oldest Squire families known. A real blue blood, Otto's grandfather had once headed up the Squires' Council.

Tyler Winstead came to them from Milwaukee. Barely five feet seven, the blond man was wholesome looking until you caught sight of his eyes. There was nothing wholesome in his gaze. Only intensity.

That left Allen Kirby. Another multi-generational Squire, Allen had been called out from Toronto for this hunt. Since Otto never spoke two words, Allen was the smart-ass of the herd. But, something told Jess, Otto could easily outdo Allen's biting comments if he chose to do so.

"I knew he'd be here," Allen said as he eyed the snow-machine with pert malice.

Jess passed a bored stare at him. "It's not Zarek. Believe me, red isn't his colour." But he suspected the snow machine did belong to a Dark-Hunter. He could feel the drain on his powers already.

"How do you know it's not him?" Tyler asked.

Jess rested the shotgun on his shoulder. "I just do."

He ordered the Squires to stay put and ambled up the driveway toward the snow machine. Using his teeth, he pulled the glove off his left hand and placed it on the engine. It was cold but that meant nothing in this subzero temp, he realized all of a sudden, and he felt like a jackass for even bothering. The snow machine could have been here five minutes or five hours. In this kind of cold, even a raging fire would be chilled within minutes of going out. So who did it belong to? He looked left and right and saw no sign of anyone. Until he heard a soft thud to his left. He barely had time to pull his gun off his shoulder before four Daimons broke through the foliage.

They paused at the sight of him, then put their heads down and ran headlong toward him. Jess caught one with a shotgun blast to the chest, then flipped a second one up and over using the stock of his gun.

A crossbow bolt shot past his face, narrowly missing him and striking one Daimon as Jess killed the one at his feet. The last one attacked, but didn't get more than a step before another bolt landed square in his chest and he burst into powdered dust.

"Nasty bloodsucking rats."

He arched a brow at the soft, feminine voice that preceded the appearance of a tall, well-built woman. Her long, black hair was braided down her back and she wore a tight black leather pantsuit that reminded him a bit of Emma Peel from The Avengers. Only it was much more devastating on the woman approaching him.

A second Dark-Hunter came out of the woods behind her. He was a good four inches taller than Jess with white-blond hair and a predator's lope that said "mess with me and get hurt." He was dressed in a long fur coat and he seemed extremely comfortable in the arctic chill.

The woman paused by Jess's side and offered him her hand. "Syra of Antikabe."

Jess inclined his head and took her hand. "Jess Brady, ma'am, pleased to meet you."

"Sundown," the other Dark-Hunter said as he joined them. He kept his hands in his pockets. "I've heard a lot about you. You're a long way from home."

Jess eyed him suspiciously. "And you are?"

"Bjorn Thorssen."

He inclined his head in turn to the Viking warrior. Rumour had it Bjorn had been one of the original Norsemen who had invaded Dark Age Normandy. "I've heard of you," he said to Bjorn, then he turned to look at Syra. "But no offense, ma'am, you I don't know."

"Sure you do. The asses on the loop call me Yukon Jane."

He smiled at that. Yukon Jane was an Amazon warrior from the third or fourth century B.C. She was rumoured to be almost as ill-tempered as Zarek. She loved to hunt and kill, and was stationed in the Yukon because she'd once maimed a king who annoyed her. "Well, now," Jess drawled with a wicked grin as he gave her elegant pose an appreciative once over, "all I can say is none of them that insult you have ever had the pleasure of your company, Miss Syra. Otherwise, they'd be calling you Queen Jane."

She smiled warmly at that. "You are a charmer and polite, too. Zoe was right." Jess's grin widened.

Allen cleared his throat. "Well, Lord Debonair and Lady Lethal, if we can have a minute of your time, we do have a psycho to hunt."

Jess glared over his shoulder at Allen, but before he could comment, Syra shot another bolt from her crossbow. Allen went flying and landed flat on his back in the snow. Syra walked over to him and stared down. "I don't particularly like Squires and I really hate the Blood Rites. So save yourself some pain and don't speak to me again. Or next time I'll use a Daimon bolt on you." She reached down and picked up the flathead bolt she'd used.

Jess laughed. He liked a woman with gumption. And a deadly aim.

"So," she said, turning around and eyeballing the lot of them. "I've been chasing a group of Daimons for the last four days as they headed toward Fairbanks. Bjorn followed a tribe of them up from Anchorage. That explains why we're here. What about the rest of you? Jess, did you trail Daimons from Reno to Alaska?"

Otto moved out of the group of Squires and paused in front of Syra. "We've come to kill Zarek of Moesia, and if you get in our way, little girl, we're going to kill you!"

"I'll be damned," Jess said, pulling his sunglasses down low on the bridge of his nose to stare at Otto. "He speaks. Or rather growls."

"But not for long if he doesn't watch his mouth." Syra gave Otto a mean and lethal glare. "For the record, Squire, it would take more man than you to even scratch me."

Otto returned her glare with a flirtatious smile. "I live for a woman who scratches. Just make sure you keep it on the back, baby. I don't like scars." Otto brushed past her.

"I really hate Squires," Syra snarled. She pulled another flat bolt out and loaded it, then shot it at Otto.

Moving so fast he could hardly be seen, the Squire turned around and caught it without flinching. He held the bolt up to his nose and inhaled it lovingly. "Mmm," he said. "Rose. My favourite."

Jess exchanged a knowing look with Andy. "Perhaps we should leave you two alone."

"Yeah," Allen said with a short laugh, "this does remind me a bit of the mating rites of the mean and the surly. All we need now is Nick Gautier." Otto slung the bolt at Allen who grunted as it made contact with his stomach. Syra's face was beet red as she glared at Otto, who ignored her and sauntered toward the cabin.

"Do you have a Squire, Jess?" she asked as she and Bjorn walked beside him.

He nodded toward Andy. "Raised that one from a whelp."

"Does he listen?"

"Most days."

"You're lucky. I shot my last three." As she headed toward the cabin, Syra added, "And it wasn't with the flat bolt."

Well, at least things were a mite more amusing with the two new additions to their crew. But as Jess entered Zarek's cabin behind Bjorn, Syra, and three of the Squires, his humor died. The rest of the group had to wait outside since no one else would fit in the small square space. This wasn't a case of the cabin being bigger inside than it looked outside. It was just the reverse. Inside, the place was well kept, but cramped and dismal.

The Squires held halogen lanterns up, illuminating the stark interior. There was a pallet on the floor with an old, worn-out pillow and a few threadbare blankets and furs. The television was set on the floor and the walls were lined with bookshelves. The only pieces of furniture in the house were two cupboards. "Good Lord," Allen said. "He lives like an animal."

"No," Syra said as she walked over to the bookshelves to skim the titles. "He lives like a slave. For him, this would be a step up from what he was used to."

She met Jess's gaze. "You know the man?"

"Yeah and you're right." Jess had to duck out of the ceiling fan's way as he moved around the room. He remembered that Zarek was a full two inches taller than him. "Damn," he said as he turned the fan blade with his finger and remembered another thing Zarek had once told him.

"What?" Bjorn asked.

Jess looked back at the Alaskan Hunter who was inspecting Zarek's pantry, which contained only a few cans of food and a ton of unopened vodka bottles. "How hot does it get up here in the summertime?"

Bjorn shrugged. "In the heart of the summer it can get in the high eighties and nineties. Why?"

Jess cursed again. "I remember talking to Zarek once. I asked him how he was doing. He said, 'Baking.' " Jess nodded at the small ceiling fan. "I just now realized what he meant. Can you imagine being trapped in this place in the dead of summer with no windows and no air-conditioning?"

Syra let out a low whistle. "We have round-the-clock sunshine. You're lucky if you can leave for more than ten minutes a day."

"What does he do for a bathroom?" Allen asked.

Syra indicated a small chamber pot in the left corner.

"How long has he been here?" she asked Jess. "Eight, nine hundred years?" Jess nodded. She let out a low whistle. "No wonder he's insane."

Allen scoffed. "With the money he gets paid, the idiot could have built himself a mansion."

"No," Jess said. "It's not his way. Trust me, when you're used to nothing, you expect nothing."

Syra walked over to the corner where a mountain of carved figurines were piled. "What are these?"

Jess frowned as he noticed the walls of the cabin and realized every single inch of them was covered with intricate carvings that matched the figurines. Suddenly he recalled the wood sculptures he'd seen in the convenience store. The ice sculptures he'd seen in town. Poor Zarek must have gone loco time and again from boredom during the months he was confined to this tiny shed. Hell, Jess had a bigger garage at home. "I would say it's Zarek's attempt to maintain a shred of sanity while he's locked away up here."

Bjorn picked up a painted figurine that looked like a polar bear with its cubs. "These are incredible."

Syra nodded. "I've never seen anything like them. It hardly seems right that we kill someone who's had to live like this all these centuries."

Allen snorted. "It hardly seems right that he was allowed to live after he murdered everyone in the village he was charged with watching."

Otto passed an interesting look to the Squire. If Jess didn't know better, he'd suspect the man had second thoughts about killing Zarek. Their gazes locked. Nope, no doubt. In fact, he suspected Otto might have been sent along for other reasons... as he had been.

"Well, guys, it's been fun," Bjorn said. "But my powers are waning from Jess and Syra and we still have a small matter of the Daimon migration to sort out. Anyone have any ideas why they would do this?"

They all looked to Syra who was the oldest. "What?" she asked.

"Have you ever seen or heard of anything like this?"

She shook her head. "I've heard of Daimons teaming up. Back in the centuries before you guys were born, they used to have warrior Daimons. But no one has seen a Spathi in at least a millennium. All this beats me. It's a pity we can't reach Acheron. He might have more information."

Bjorn headed out of the cabin. Jess pulled up the rear and looked back inside the shack one more time. Damn. He felt real sorry for his friend and the life Zarek had been given. He couldn't imagine being stuck out in the woods all alone in temperatures that ranged from forty below to ninety. No wonder Ash took such pity on Zarek. Six of the squires went to the SUVs and unloaded gasoline containers. "What are you doing?" Jess asked suspiciously.

"Burning him out," a redheaded Squire said. "You want to hunt, you-"

"Like hell!" Jess grabbed the container from the man's hand and slung it toward the woods. "This is all he has in the world. No way I'm going to let you take it from him."

Allen sneered at him. "He beat up that woman."

Jess narrowed his gaze. "You have yet to prove it to me."

Allen rolled his eyes, as if unable to understand how he could defend his friend. "If Zarek didn't do it? Who did?"

"I did."

Harry had let the group argue as they liked while he looked around. The hut may be bigger than his cupboard had been but at least he hadn't been totally trapped in it for months at a time like Zarek was. But the new voice got his attention and he turned with them to look at the newcomers, yeah, this was going to end well.

Jess looked up to see the biggest herd of Daimons he'd ever beheld in his life. There had to be at least forty head of them, but it was hard to count-especially since he didn't think they were all visible. His Dark-Hunter sense told him more were still in the woods, acting as standbys. Some wore leather, some fur coats. Some were male and others female. But they had a few things in common. Blond hair, fangs, and that unnatural attractiveness that was ingrained in their species. Even so, one glance was enough to identify their leader. It was a Daimon he'd met already while he'd been after Zarek. But instead of fleeing from him like most Daimons did, this one had run after Zarek. Pursuing Zarek even while they did.

The leader stood a head taller than the others and slightly ahead of them. Unlike the ones behind him, there was no fear in his gaze. Only a raw, tangible determination. And a meanness that ran soul deep.

Syra let out a sound that was a cross between disbelief and humour. "What the hell is that?"

The Daimon leader smiled. "I would say 'Your worst nightmare,' but I hate clichés."

"Marone, you're real."

Everyone on the "good" side turned to look at Otto, who stared at the leader as if he were looking at a visitation from the Devil himself.

"You know this guy, Carvalleti?" Jess asked.

"I know of him, anyway," he said, his tone deep and heavy. "My father used to tell me about the Daimon called Thanatos when I was a kid. We always thought he was making it up."

"Making up what?" Bjorn asked as he looked back in Thanatos's direction.

"Tales of a Dark-Hunter executioner called the Dayslayer. It's a story that's been handed down through my family for generations. Squire to Squire."

"And you're telling me this ass is him?" Bjorn asked at the same time Syra said, "Dark-Hunter executioner?"

Otto nodded. "Supposedly Artemis once set up a slayer for you guys in the event you turned rogue. He can walk in daylight and doesn't need blood to live. Legend has it that he's invincible."

Thanatos applauded sarcastically. "Very good, little Squire. I'm impressed."

Otto's eyes turned glacial. "My father said Acheron killed Thanatos about a thousand years ago."

"Not to be a smart-ass," Bjorn said, "but he doesn't look dead to me."

Thanatos laughed. "I'm not. At least no more so than you are." Thanatos approached them slowly, methodically.

Jess tensed, ready for battle.

Thanatos folded his hands behind his back and offered Otto a wry smile. "Question, human, did your father ever tell you of the Spathi Daimons?" Thanatos looked at the Dark-Hunters. "Surely you older Hunters remember them?" He sighed nostalgically. "Ah, those were the days... The Dark-Hunters hunted us, we slaughtered them. We made our homes in underground catacombs and crypts where the Hunters couldn't go without getting possessed. It was an interesting time to be Apollite or Daimon."

He looked over his shoulder at the herd of Daimons who eyed them nervously for the most part. There were one or two who had no fear and those were the ones Jess paid closest attention to. He didn't know anything about warrior Daimons, but he did know how to execute any and all who wanted a taste of a human soul.

When Thanatos spoke again, his voice was dark, sinister. "But that was before we discovered civilization and modern conveniences. Before the human world developed enough to where we could exist at night under the pretense of being one of them. Apollites owning businesses and houses. Daimons playing Nintendo. What is this world coming to?"

Thanatos moved so fast that no one had time to blink. He shot a blast from his hands, knocking all the Squires off their feet. He surveyed his chaos with a pleased look on his face. "Now before I allow my people to feed on all of you and I kill the Dark-Hunters, perhaps we should talk a bit, hmm... ? Or do you Hunters really want to battle me while you weaken each other?"

"Talk about what?" Jess asked, moving closer to Syra. Even though he knew she could take care of herself, it was just ingrained habit for him to protect a woman.

"Where Zarek is," Thanatos said between clenched teeth.

"We don't know," Syra said.

"Wrong answer."

One of the unknown Squires let out a howl. Jess watched in horror as the man's arm was snapped in half by nothing at all. Holy Madre de Dios, he'd never seen anything like that.

Bjorn attacked. Thanatos caught him, and flipped him to the ground. He ripped open Bjorn's shirt to expose the bow-and-arrow mark of Artemis on Bjorn's shoulder. Thanatos went to stab the mark only to go flying back as a new figure materialised among them, a figure Sundown recognised from an alley months ago. Bjorn quickly got to his feet and re-joined them while none of them moved.

Jess could barely breathe as rage suffused him. That had been way too easy for the Daimon. Up until now, the Dark-Hunters had been told that they could only die three ways. Total dismemberment, sunlight, or beheading. Apparently, Acheron had left out one crucial, and extremely quick, way to die. This wasn't good, and right now he was pissed that no one had warned them. It was obvious this Thanatos knew of a fourth way and it was only the intervention of…Harry, that had stopped him. "Harry."

"Hey, you know I never got your name."

"Sundown. What are you doing here? How?"

Harry shrugged. "All I got was a note form Ash saying Zarek, Alaska and trouble so here I am. Couldn't find Zarek so I've been tailing you lot."

His answer left a lot of questions to be answered but that would have to wait. There were innocent people here and if he fought Thanatos in the presence of Syra, they would both be fighting with their hands tied behind their backs, while Thanatos would be fighting full strength.

"You want Zarek?" Jess asked.

Thanatos rose slowly to his feet. "That's why I'm here." He glared at the dark haired man that had stopped him destroying the Dark Hunter, he didn't know what he was.

Jess was shaken by what he'd seen and he would think on it later; right now he wanted to make sure the Squires survived. Jess slid his gaze to Syra and sent a mental projection to her. "Save the Squires. I'm taking Asshole for a run." Aloud, he said, "Then follow me and bring all you've got. Zarek's going to enjoy slaying you." Jess ran for his Bronco.

Harry shook his head but went with him, jumping in the passenger seat. "Ash would be annoyed if I let you go and get yourself killed." He muttered as they took off.

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She took him inside the arcade so that she could teach him to play Skee-Ball, one of her favourites. He was amazingly good at it. "Where did you learn to throw like that?"

"I live in Alaska, princess, land of ice and snow. There's not much difference between this and tossing a snowball."

She was surprised at that. She had a funny image in her mind of him playing in the snow, which would be completely out of character. "Who do you throw snowballs with?"

He rolled another ball up the ramp and into the centre circle. "No one. I used to toss them at the bears so that they would get mad and come close enough for me to kill them."

"You killed little bears?"

He gave her a droll look. "They weren't little, princess, I promise you. And unlike rabbits, you can make more than one meal off them and it doesn't take as many hides to make a coat or blanket. In the dead of winter, there's not a lot to eat. Most times before there were grocery stores it was either bear meat or starve."

Astrid's chest tightened at his words. She'd known it wouldn't be easy for him to survive, but what he described made her want to reach out and hold him close. "How did you kill them?"

"With my silver claws."

She was aghast. "You killed bears with a claw? Please tell me there are easier ways to do that. Spear, bow and arrow, gun?"

"It was long before guns, and besides, it wouldn't have been fair to the bear. He couldn't attack me from a distance. I figured he had claws and I had claws. Winner take all."

She shook her head in disbelief. She had to give him credit, at least Zarek was sporting about it. "Didn't you get hurt?"

He shrugged nonchalantly, then tossed another ball. "Better than starving. Besides, I'm used to being cut up." He gave her a mischievous look. "Want a bearskin rag, princess? I have quite a collection."

She didn't find any humour in his question. Her throat tight, Astrid wanted to weep from what he was telling her. Images went through her mind of him all alone, wounded, dragging a bear that outweighed him by at least ten times through the arctic snow just so that he could eat. And getting the bear home was just the beginning of it. He'd have to skin and butcher it before the other animals smelled his kill or their blood. Then cook it. No one to help him and no choice except to do that or starve. She wondered how many days he'd spent with no food at all... "What about food in the summertime when you have twenty-two hours or more of daylight? I mean, you couldn't preserve the meat for long and it wouldn't give you enough time to plant or harvest anything. What did you do then?"

"I starved, princess, and prayed for winter."

Tears welled in her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Zarek."

His jaw flexed. He refused to look at her. "Don't be, it's not your fault. Besides, the hunger wasn't as bad as the thirst. Thank the gods for bottled water. Before that there always were a few days when I couldn't make it to the well even though it's just a short walk outside my door."

He reached for another ball. Astrid placed her hand on his to stop him. He turned to face her, his lips slightly parted. She pulled him into her arms and kissed him, wanting to give him some comfort, some degree of solace. Zarek crushed her to him. She opened her mouth to taste him fully and to let his strength wash over her. He pulled back with a groan. "Why are you here?"

"I'm here for you, Prince Charming."

"I don't believe you. Why are you really here? What do you want from me?"

She sighed. "You are amazingly suspicious."

"No, I'm realistic and dreams like this don't happen to me."

She arched a brow at him. "Never?"

"Not in the last two thousand years, anyway."

She smoothed the line on his brow with her fingertip and smiled up at him. "Well, things they are a-changing."

Zarek cocked his head at that, not believing it for a minute. Some things never changed. Never.

"Zarek!"

He felt an odd tugging at his chest. But it wasn't Astrid doing it.

"Is something wrong?" Astrid asked.

"Zarek!"

It was a man's voice calling to him. One that seemed to come from miles away.

"I feel suddenly strange."

"Strange how?" she asked.

"Zarek!"

The clear boardwalk turned dark. His sight began to dim, his head to spin. Zarek felt himself drifting away from Astrid. He fought with all his strength to remain with her. To remain with his dream. He didn't want it to end. Didn't want to wake up in a world where no one wanted him. He had to get back to her. Please, just one more minute...

"Zarek! Damn it, boy, don't make me have to slap you. The last thing I need right now is a concussion. Now get up!"

Zarek came awake to find Jess leaning over him, shaking him hard. Cursing, he kicked the cowboy back, into the wall. Jess's foul oath matched his own as Jess rebounded off the wood. Zarek's back and arm throbbed in response to Jess's injuries. But he didn't care. He intended to add so many more injuries to the cowboy that neither one of them would be able to walk without limping. He owed the bastard for the shot in his back. And he always paid his debts in full, with interest. Zarek came out of the bed snarling, ready for battle.

"Whoa, Z!" Jess said, ducking the punch Zarek swung at him. "Calm down."

Zarek stalked him like a lion eyeing an injured gazelle. One that intended to make the gazelle its dinner... "Calm down? You shot me in the back, you son of a bitch."

Jess's face turned to stone and he gave him a cold, chilling stare. "Boy, don't you dare insult my mama, and you better stop and think about that one for a minute. I was a paid killer since I was old enough to hold a gun. Had I shot your dumb ass, you wouldn't have a head right now. Having been shot in the back by a friend, I sure wouldn't want to return that favour to anyone. Not even an ornery cuss like you. And why the hell would I hurt myself just to get to you anyway? Lord, boy, use your head."

Zarek still wasn't ready to believe him. Though mostly healed, his back was a sore reminder that someone had tried their damnedest to kill him. "Then who shot me?"

"One of them idiot Squires. Hell if I know which one. They all kind of look alike when they're not yours."

Zarek hesitated as he tried to sort out everything that had happened over the last few days. Everything was a bit fuzzy in his mind. The last thing he really remembered was trying to leave Astrid's cabin... He frowned as he looked around, realizing he was still here. Jess had awakened him while he was lying fully dressed in a bed he didn't remember climbing into. He frowned as he saw Astrid lying in that bed, too. The dreams he'd had... What the hell?

Jess reloaded his shotgun. "Look, I don't have time for this. Do you know who Thanatos is?"

"Yeah, we met."

"Good, 'cause he's already tried to kill one Dark-Hunter tonight and he's right behind me. I need you up and running. Fast."

Zarek's stomach went south at his words. "What?"

Jess's face was grim and lethal. "He took out a Dark-Hunter without breaking a sweat, if it hadn't been for Ash's friend Harry showing up Bjorn would be a Shade. I've never seen anything like it in my life. Now Thanatos is coming for you, Z. It's time to make like a fox and get the hell out of Dallas."

What did that mean? If Zarek's head hurt before, it was nothing compared to the ache he felt trying to decipher that last bit of cowboy colloquialism.

"Whatever you do," Jess said, his voice deep and thick with warning, "don't let Thanatos near your bow-and-arrow mark. Apparently it works like the Daimons' ink blot in the centre of their chests. One tiny stab and we're dust."

Zarek scowled at his words. "What bow-and-arrow mark? I don't have one."

Jess scoffed. "Of course you do. We all have one."

"No I don't."

Jess looked up from his gun, his face completely un-amused. "Maybe it's in a spot you don't look at. Like your butt or something. I know you got one. It's where Artemis touched you when she captured your soul."

Zarek shook his head at him. "Artemis never touched me. She couldn't get near me without cringing so she used a stick to make me a Dark-Hunter. I swear to you, there's no mark on me."

Jess's jaw dropped in disbelief. "Wait, wait, wait. Are you telling me they stick you out here where there are no Daimons and you don't have a weak spot? What kind of shit is that? I live in Daimon Central with one hell of an Achilles' heel that no one ever bothered to mention, and you live where there's no danger to you and yet you don't have one?" Jess paced the floor. It was a habit Zarek had learned about during one of their late-night phone conversations. Once Jess started on a rant, it was hard to get him off it. "What's not fair with this picture?" Jess railed. "And then Ash asks me to come up here to save your ass and here we are dropping like flies while you're Teflon. No, I have a problem with this. I love you, man, but da-yam. This just ain't right. I'm up here freezing my balls off, and you, you don't need protection. Meanwhile I have a bull's-eye on my arm that says, 'Hey, Daimon on steroids, kill me right here.'"

Still Jess rambled. "Do you realize, I put my keys in my mouth to pull out my wallet to pay for gas and they froze there? The last thing I want to do is die up here in this godforsaken place at the hands of some freaked-out something no one has ever heard of before except for Guido the Killer Squire from Jersey? I swear I want someone's ass for this." Jess took a breath but before he could start ranting again, the front door to the cabin burst open.

The entire house shook from the force of it. Zarek felt a cold, familiar shiver up his spine. A faint trace of a memory flashed through his mind. It was vague and disconcerting. He'd felt this before... With no time to contemplate, he used his telekinesis to slam and lock the bedroom door. He shoved Jess toward the window. "She has a wolf somewhere in the house. Find him and get him out." Something struck the door forcefully.

"Come out, Zarek," Thanatos growled. "I thought you liked to play with Daimons."

"Yeah, I'll play with you, you bastard." Zarek blew out the window with his telekinesis and pushed Jess through it while Thanatos continued to assault the door. Crossing the room, Zarek grabbed Astrid, who was still sound asleep on the bed, and handed her out the window to Jess. "Get her out of here." Jess had barely taken Astrid from him before the door blew apart. Zarek turned around slowly. "Didn't your mother ever teach you it's not nice to intrude?"

Thanatos narrowed a cold, harsh glare at him. "My mother disintegrated when I was only a year old. She didn't have time to teach me anything. But you, on the other hand, taught me well how to hunt and kill my enemies."

Zarek was so shocked by the words that it left him open to the first attack. Thanatos caught him with a blast straight to his chest. Zarek rolled with it, taking strength from the pain. He was good at that.

As he braced himself to attack, a gunshot rang out twice. Thanatos staggered forward, then turned around with a snarl. Zarek's eyes widened as he caught sight of two bullet holes in the back of the Daimon's skull. Bullet holes that healed instantly.

Jess cursed from the hallway. "What are you?"

"Jess," Zarek snapped. "Get out. I can handle this."

As Thanatos went for Jess, Zarek ran at his back and knocked him into the doorframe.

"Go!" he shouted at Jess. "I can't fight him with you here. I need all my powers." Jess nodded and ran for the front door. Zarek heard him pause long enough to get the wolf out. "Alone at last." He laughed as Thanatos shoved him back against the far wall. "Oh, the pleasure of the pain."

Thanatos raked him with a disgusted sneer. "You really do suffer from insanity, don't you?"

"Hardly. I have to say I enjoy every minute of it." Zarek let his powers surge through him until his hands burned from the heat of them. He channelled the ions in the air and charged them full, then directed them at Thanatos. The blast knocked him halfway down the hall. Gathering more power, Zarek knocked him back again, into the den. He kept hitting Thanatos until the man landed on the floor by the hearth. He blinked as Thanatos was flung off the floor and into a wall, hard. He looked over and there was Harry in the doorway.

"Move it!" Harry snapped at him, sending the Daimon flying again before he pulled his wand and began muttering in Latin before blowing on it. Zarek joined him, watching in awe as fire consumed the room, fire that moved in the shapes of animals.

They moved outside and surveyed the flames that were quickly consuming Astrid's house. It was a good thing she was rich. Looked like she was going to need a new place to live after this. Zarek pulled a cigarette out of his coat pocket and smiled. Underneath his breath, he sang the Talking Heads' classic song, " "Three hundred sixty-five degrees... burning down the house.'"

Harry looked at him and shook his head in amusement. "You hurt?"

"I'm fine. Why are you here?"

"Ash of course. He said you were in trouble."

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Astrid buried her hand in Sasha's fur and used his eyes as her own. He climbed into her lap so that he could look out the window for her. After a few miles, she recognized the scenery as they neared her cabin. But what scared her was the sight of a huge fire off in the distance.

Sundown cursed and accelerated.

As they came closer, she saw her cabin burning. There were two shadows in front of it, but she couldn't tell who they were. Terrified, she held her breath, hoping it was Zarek who was still alive. It wasn't until Sundown pulled to a stop that she could tell for sure.

She went weak with relief. It was Zarek silhouetted by the fire, along with another dark haired man she assumed was another Hunter. Letting go of Sasha, she opened the door and ran toward where she had seen him. Astrid had no idea how he had survived Thanatos or where the Executioner was. All that mattered was getting to Zarek. She wanted to touch him, to make sure he wasn't hurt.

Halfway there, a fearful, masculine scream rent the air. Astrid slid to a stop as she tried to pinpoint where it came from. She heard the snow crunching to the side of her and she assumed that was Sundown, heading for Zarek. Sasha came up from behind and nosed her hand with his muzzle. It didn't seem to have come from any of them. Then all of a sudden, an explosion sounded.

She dropped to her knees and used Sasha to see what was happening. Her house had blown apart. Fire and debris shot high into the air, blending ominously with the aurora borealis. Out of the midst of the fiery remains came Thanatos. Unmarred and undamaged. Not even his hair was singed. It was a horrifying sight.

Zarek cursed. "Don't you ever die?"

Thanatos didn't answer. Instead, he moved to slug Zarek who ducked the blow and delivered a staggering one back.

Sundown moved toward her. "I've got to get you-"

She took off running before Sundown could finish the sentence. "Sasha," she called. "Attack."

"Like hell!" Sasha snapped. "I may be your guardian but that is Artemis's pet. I can't kill it. I'll be lucky to even faze him. And you know what people do to injured wolves... They shoot them."

Astrid panicked. She couldn't see. She could only hear the grunts of the men fighting, the sound of flesh striking flesh. Someone grabbed her and threw her to the ground, then covered her body with theirs. She screamed.

"Stop it!" Zarek snapped. He rolled with her, then pulled her up and pushed her forward.

"What's going on?" she asked as he kept moving her forward.

"Not much," he said in a bored yet breathless tone. "Some invincible asshole is trying to kill me. And you're not supposed to be here." He let go of her. "Get her out of here, Jess."

"I can't."

Zarek curled his lip. Had he been able to afford the drain to his powers, he would have slugged Jess for that. Instead, all he could do was whirl around to face Thanatos who was stalking him relentlessly. "What's the matter, Zarek? You afraid to die?"

He snorted as he pushed Astrid toward Jess. "Dying's easy. It's living that's hard."

Thanatos paused as if the words caught him off guard. It gave Zarek just what he needed. Pulling the Daimon dagger from its concealed sheath inside his boot, he rushed forward and embedded it in Thanatos's chest where a stain that looked like an ink blot should have been. Normally the strike would release the human souls trapped inside a Daimon's body. The force of their exit was usually enough to blow the Daimon apart, causing instant decomposition. This time, it didn't work.

Thanatos pulled the dagger out and reached for him. "I'm not a Daimon, Dark-Hunter. Don't you remember? I was an Apollite until I met you."

Zarek frowned.

Harry moved in, sending Thanos flying away from the confused Zarek. He wondered absently what a killing curse would do to the monster but he didn't cast it, sticking to standard curses and a few he'd picked up from Snape's old potions book. He needed to keep its attention on him so the others could get a head start. He glanced back and sighed, they were still there. "Go!" He snapped at them.

Thanos got past him and grabbed Zarek again He kneed Thanatos in the groin. The Daimon doubled over. "Dead or alive, the balls still hurt when kicked, huh?" The Daimon hissed and cursed in response. Zarek slammed his combined fists down across Thanatos's back. "If anyone has any suggestion on how to kill this guy, I'm open to it."

Jess shook his head. "I'm out of dynamite. You got any grenades?"

"Not on me."

Thanatos righted himself. "Say die, Dark-Hunter."

"Fine. Die, why don't you?" Zarek lowered his head and charged him. They locked arms and hit the ground. Thanatos rose up from him and ripped open his shirt. From the way he moved his hands, Zarek could tell he was looking for the bow-and-arrow mark Jess had mentioned. "Surprise, dickhead, Mama forgot to tell you a few things about me."

In the distance, Zarek heard the approach of an engine. He heard its drone over the sound of Jess urging Astrid to leave and Astrid's refusal while Sasha barked and pushed at her. Harry remained at his side, he was doing damage but the bastard healed too fast for it to really slow him down. Suddenly, a snow machine came flying up at the same time Zarek broke from Thanatos.

"Duck!"

Zarek didn't recognize the voice, and ordinarily, he wouldn't have obeyed, but what the hell? He was tired of getting his butt kicked by this Daimon. He hit the ground and rolled out of the way while the dark green snow machine flew over him. The man on it was dressed all in black with a black helmet. The newcomer skidded to a stop and pulled out a gun. A bright flash of light cut through the darkness. The flare hit Thanatos in the centre of his chest and knocked the Daimon flying.

Thanatos roared. "How dare you betray me! You're one of us."

The man slung a long leg over the snow machine and reloaded his flare gun as he headed over to where Zarek was still lying on the ground. "Yeah," he said bitterly. "You should have thought of that before you tried to take out Bjorn." The newcomer fired his gun and knocked Thanatos back. "He was the only one of them I could ever stand."

The stranger reached down and helped Zarek to his feet. He pulled his helmet off and gave it to Zarek. "Get the woman and get out. Hurry."

The minute Zarek met the stranger's eyes, he knew him. This was the only Dark-Hunter he'd ever known who was even more hated than he was. "Spawn?"

The blond Apollite Dark-Hunter nodded. "Go," he said, reloading. "I'm the only one who can hold him off, but I can't kill him. For Apollo's sake, someone get a hold of Acheron and tell him the Dayslayer is out."

Zarek ran for Astrid.

"No!" Thanatos roared.

Zarek saw the blast before it left Thanatos's hand. Acting on instinct, he cut back toward Spawn. The blast missed him, but hit Astrid's wolf. The animal yelped, then changed from wolf to man, back to wolf. Zarek drew up short as he realized Astrid's pet was a Katagari Were-Hunter. Now why would a blind woman with a Katagari companion take in a rogue Dark-Hunter?

"Sasha?" Astrid called. Jess ran to the Katagari to keep him covered while Zarek went to Astrid. Harry kept between the two groups, working to shield them from anymore blasts.

"Your were-buddy got zapped, princess."

Fear lined her brow. "Is he okay?"

He picked her up, and brought her over to Jess, then cursed as he realized Jess couldn't get both her and the wolf to safety. After an energy blast, the Katagaria tended to flash in and out of their forms for a while. Jess struggled to get the wolf-man to the safety of his Bronco. As soon as he could, Jess left. Zarek put the helmet on Astrid's head. "Looks like it's just you and me, princess. No doubt you're going to wish I'd left you here with the Daimon."

Astrid hesitated at the anger and hatred she heard in Zarek's tone of voice. "I trust you, Zarek."

"Then you're a fool." Zarek looked at Harry who shook his head.

"Go, I've got my own ways of getting clear. Keep her safe." He answered before running back to back Spawn up.

He took her arm and led her away so she couldn't hear Spawn and Thanatos. Roughly, he helped her onto a snow machine. She expected him to lead her away from the sound of fighting. Instead, they headed toward it. She covered her face instinctively as something crashed close to them. Harry followed them and Zarek hesitated, looking at him and then the snow machine.

"Get on," Zarek snapped. "Hurry."

Astrid felt the seat dip, then they were rushing away from all the noise. Astrid's heart pounded as she waited for something else to happen. After what seemed like hours, but was probably only a few minutes, Zarek stopped the snow machine. Again she felt motion on the seat as someone got off. Since Zarek's arms were still around her, she assumed it must be Spawn.

"Thanks," Spawn said. "I never expected Zarek of Moesia to come to my rescue."

"Ditto, Spawn. Since when do Daimons fight their own kind?"

Spawn's voice dripped with venom. "I was never a Daimon, Roman."

"And I was never a fucking Roman."

Spawn gave a short, bitter laugh. "Truce, then?"

She felt Zarek shift behind her. "Truce." Zarek seemed to turn around and look in the direction they had come from. "You have any idea what that thing after me is?"

"Think Terminator. The only difference is that he has the sanction of Artemis."

"What do you mean?"

"My people have a legend of the Dayslayer. It says that Artemis chose one of our own to be her personal guard. More beloved than any of her people, the Dayslayer has no known vulnerability. Once he's unleashed, his goal is to destroy Dark-Hunters."

"So you're telling me he's the Bogeyman?"

"You doubt me?"

"No. Not after what I've seen."

She heard Spawn let out a long breath. "I heard that Artemis had called out a blood hunt for you. I figured it would be Acheron who killed you."

"Yeah, well, trust me, I'm not executed yet. It'll take more than that thing to expire me." Zarek paused. "Just out of curiosity, what are all of you doing up here anyway? Did Acheron call for a reunion and not invite me?"

"Bjorn came because he was chasing a group of Daimons. I came because I felt the Summoning."

"The Summoning?" Astrid asked. In all honesty, she knew very little about the Apollites and Daimons. That was the domain of Apollo and Artemis.

"It's like a homing beacon," Spawn explained, "and it's irresistible to anyone with Apollite blood. I can feel Thanatos even now calling out to me. I think the only reason I can resist it is because I'm a Dark-Hunter. If I weren't... Let's just say you're in for one hell of a scary time."

Zarek snorted. "Doubtful. So how do I kill him?"

"You don't. Artemis made him so that he could track and kill us. He has no known vulnerability. Not even daylight. Worse, he will destroy anyone who tries to shelter you."

Shelter you... Again, Zarek's mind flashed to his village. To the old woman who'd died in his arms... What was his brain trying to tell him? "Has Thanatos ever come after me before?" he asked Spawn.

Spawn scoffed. "You're still living so obviously the answer is no."

Still... Zarek got off the snow machine. "Here, take Astrid and-"

"Did you not hear me, Zarek? I can't take her. Thanatos will kill her for sheltering you. She's dead if you leave her."

"She's dead if she stays with me."

"We all got problems and she happens to be yours. Not mine." Astrid had the distinct feeling Zarek was flipping Spawn off. "Not on your best day, Greek," Spawn said, confirming her suspicion. Zarek sat back down on the snow machine.

"Hey, Zarek?" Spawn asked. "Do you have a cell phone with you?"

"No, it went down with her house."

She heard Spawn's footsteps crunching in the snow as he returned to them. "Take this and call Acheron when you're safe. Maybe he can help you with the woman."

"Thanks." The word was more inflected with belligerence than gratitude. "But what are you going to do without a phone or the snow machine?"

"Freeze my ass off." There was a small pause. "Don't worry about me. I assure you, I'll be fine."

"Wait, where's the other man?" Astrid asked. Zarek looked to Spawn.

"He literally vanished into thin air. Who is he?"

"A friend of Acheron's apparently." Zarek's arms surrounded her again. She heard him turn the snow machine back on. "Where are we going?" she asked him.

"Up Shit Creek sans the paddles."

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

"Yes, I am insane, but they're safe where they are. I want you to wait for about three hours and then go get her. That should give me enough time." Zarek was saying as Harry found him again.

"Enough time for what?" Sundown, Jess, asked.

"Don't worry about it. Enter my cabin and tell Astrid who you are. She'll be coming out of hiding with another woman. Be kind to the little one, she belongs to Ash."

"What little one?"

"You'll see."

"In three hours?" Jess repeated.

"Yeah."

Jess paused for a few seconds. "What about you, Eskimo?"

"What about me?"

"You're not doing something stupid, are you?"

"No. I'm doing something smart." Zarek hung up. He tossed the phone into his backpack and pulled out his cigarettes and lighter. He lit up a cigarette while he waited and sat in the frigid cold missing his coat. But as he thought of the coat, his thoughts turned to Astrid and he warmed up considerably. How he wished he could have made love to her one more time. Felt her skin on his. Her breath on his face. Her hands running over his flesh. He'd never known anything or anyone like her, but then, she was a nymph after all. Wholly unlike anyone else in all the universe. He still couldn't believe the way he felt about her. How was she able to soothe the pain in him that he had thought would never cease? Strange how she took his thoughts away from the past. Away from everything.

No wonder Talon had been willing to die for Sunshine. It made total sense to him now. But Zarek didn't want to die for Astrid. He wanted to live for her. He wanted to spend the rest of his immortality by her side. He couldn't. Looking up at the mountains around him, he thought of Olympus. Astrid's home. Mortals couldn't live there and gods didn't live on earth. It was hopeless between them. And he was pragmatic enough to know it. There was no starry-eyed side of him to think for one minute anything could unite them. Any optimism he'd ever felt had been kicked out of him before he was old enough to shave.

Still, he couldn't stop the part of him that ached with loss. The part of him that screamed out soul deep for Astrid to stay with him. "Damn you, Fates. Damn all of you." But then, they had. Long, long ago.

"You know this isn't going to end well." Harry leant against a log beside him and Zarek glanced at him.

"Who, what are you?"

"Does it really matter?" Harry asked even as he moved upwind of his cigarette.

"You need to get out of here while you can."

"I'm not leaving you to face him alone."

"Are you immortal? You were stabbed in the heart in New Orleans, I remember that."

"Not that I'm aware of, I heal fast but that's it."

"Then chances are you'll die here."

"Everyone dies somewhere." Harry stood straight as the sound of a snow machine approaching grew. "Here he comes."

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Artemis felt the shock wave go through her temple like an earthquake. Something let out an angry, baleful roar. Her attendants looked up, their faces white. Artemis sat up on her throne. If she didn't know better she would think... The door to her private chambers disintegrated. Pieces of it flew through the room as if propelled by a violent tornado.

Her women screamed and ran for the door that led outside, seeking shelter from the unexpected maelstrom. Artemis wanted to run, too, but her fear held her immobile.

It was extremely rare that she saw this side of Acheron. She was too terrified of him to ever push him this far. He floated out of her bedroom with his long black hair whipping around him. His eyes were blood-red, swirling like fire as his unnatural powers surged. His fangs were overgrown and large. He was the very thing she feared most in the universe. In this state, he could kill her with nothing more than a passing thought. She panicked. If she didn't get him calmed down the other gods would feel his presence and there would be hell to pay for everyone.

Most of all for her.

She used her powers to mask his, hoping to disguise his abilities as her own. With any luck, the other gods would assume she was having her own tantrum. "Acheron?"

He cursed at her in Atlantean and held her back with an invisible wall. She felt his agony. He was in excruciating pain, but she didn't know why. Everything in her temple whirled in the vortex of his powers and rage. The only thing still grounded were the two of them.

"Artemis? I have a problem."

She flinched as she heard Astrid's voice in her head. "Not now, Astrid. I have a situation here."

"Let me guess, Acheron is angry?"

"I am past anger, Astrid." His voice was low, deep, and evil sounding. Acheron's bloody gaze pierced Artemis. "How is it Simi is wounded?"

Artemis's fear tripled. "The demon's hurt?"

"Simi's dying." Astrid and Acheron spoke simultaneously.

Artemis covered her mouth. She felt suddenly ill. Sick. Horrified and scared beyond belief. If anything happened to his demon... He would kill her.

Acheron used his powers to pull her roughly to him. "Where did Thanatos get one of my daggers, Artemis?"

A tremor of guilt went through her with that question. When she had created the first Thanatos seven thousand years ago, she had granted him weapons to slay the Dark-Hunters. At the time she had thought it divine justice that he use one of Acheron's Atlantean daggers to kill them. As soon as Acheron had realized a dagger was missing, he had gathered all his weapons together and destroyed them. Now she understood why. He'd done it to protect his demon. "I didn't know your dagger would hurt it."

"Damn you, Artemis. You have taken everything from me. Everything!"

She felt his pain, his sorrow. She hated him for that. If she died tomorrow he wouldn't care at all. But for the demon, he wept. Why wouldn't he love and protect her like this? "I'll go get it for you, Acheron."

Acheron stopped her from leaving his side. "Don't you do anything, Artemis. I know you. You're not to help or try to heal her in any way. You just pick her up and bring her right back here to me. Swear it on the River Styx."

"I swear."

He released her. Artemis shimmered from her temple to where Astrid, Simi, and Zarek were hiding underground. The demon lay on the floor with Zarek and Astrid kneeling beside it.

"I want Akri!" Simi sobbed. She was screaming and crying hysterically.

"Shh," Zarek said, soothing her. He held a tourniquet over her wound. Both the tourniquet and his hand were covered in blood. "You have to calm down, Simi. You're making it worse."

"I want my daddy! Take me home, Astrid. I need to go home now."

"I can't, Simi. That power is taken from me until I deliver a verdict to my mother."

"I want Akri," she wailed again. "I don't want to die without him. I'm scared. Please, please take me home. I just want my daddy."

Zarek looked up as a shadow fell over them. It was a face he hadn't seen since the day he'd become a Dark-Hunter. Artemis.

Her long auburn hair curled around her lithe, beautiful body. She wore a long, white dress and her green eyes glittered ominously in the dim light of the tunnel.

He held his breath, half-expecting her to kill him. No Dark-Hunter was ever allowed to be in the presence of a god.

Simi saw her and let out a terrible shriek. "Not her! The heifer goddess is going to kill me!"

"Shut up," Artemis snapped. "Believe me, I'd love to see you dead but if you die, I'll never hear the end of it." Artemis picked her up in spite of her struggles.

She looked at Astrid and Zarek. "Have you judged him yet?"

Before Astrid could answer, the trapdoor behind them burst open. Zarek cursed as he saw Thanatos coming through it. He turned to order Artemis to take Astrid with Simi, but she'd already vanished. He, alone, had to protect her. Damn Artemis for this! "Run!" he shouted at Astrid. He urged her toward the trapdoor that led into his cabin.

"What's happening?"

"Thanatos is here so unless you've got some god power that can kill him, run!"

"Where's Artemis?"

"She vaporized."

Astrid gave a disgusted look, then did as he said. As Zarek helped her up, Thanatos reached them. Zarek kicked him back.

"You're not going to escape me, Dark-Hunter. But then, it's not really you I'm after."

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Harry froze, head cocked to one side as he listened but the night was silent around him. so what was wrong? He knew something had happened…. Ash, he could feel Ash and he was beyond angry but also scared. He staggered back to his feet and kept walking, he'd exhausted himself helping Zarek against Thanatos and had paid with a sword to the side. Thankfully the bastard had simply left him for dead, giving him peace and time to heal but the wound still ached. He needed to get back to Zarek and the woman, Astrid, whatever she was.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Ash grabbed Simi from Artemis the instant she materialized in front of him. He cradled his "baby" gently in his arms as he took her to Artemis's bed.

"Akri!" Simi wailed, nuzzling against his chest. "The Simi is hurt. You told me I couldn't get hurt."

"I know, Sim, I know." He held her close, half-afraid to pull back her makeshift bandage and see the damage done to her.

Her tears fell down her cheeks, making his own eyes well up. Out of habit, he started singing to her, an ancient Atlantean lullaby he used to sing to her when she was barely more than a hatchling. She calmed a bit. Ash wiped the tears from her cold cheeks, then pulled the cloth away. His dagger had sliced through her, narrowly missing her heart, but the wound was clean and the blood flow had slowed. Thanks to Zarek, no doubt. He owed the man more than he could ever repay. Summoning his powers, Ash laid his hand over her wound and healed her injury.

Simi glanced around, then she looked at him. "Simi better?'

He nodded and smiled. "Simi all better."

Simi looked at her chest. She pulled her shirt up and looked underneath it, too, as if to verify to herself that she was okay. Laughing, she threw herself into his arms. Ash held her, grateful beyond measure that she hadn't died. He held her close until she whined for him to let her go.

Kissing her brow, he released her. "Return to me, Simi."

For once, she didn't argue. In dragon form, she placed herself over his heart. It was where she belonged. Turning slowly, Ash faced Artemis.

In a pique, she stood with her hands on her hips and her body tensed. "Oh, come on, you're not still mad. I did the right thing. I brought it back to you."

"Her!" he barked, making her jump. "Simi isn't an it, Artemis. She's a her and I want for once to hear you say her name."

She stuck her chin out defiantly. Narrowing her green eyes, she forced herself to say, "Simi."

He inclined his head in approval. "As for the right thing... no, Artie. The right thing would have been to not steal from me. The right thing would have been to listen to me when I told you not to create another Thanatos. What you did today was the smart thing. Because of that, I'm not going to do the wrong thing and kill you. But Thanatos is another matter."

"You can't leave here to kill him."

"I don't have to leave here to kill him."

"Zarek..." Ash's voice whispered in his mind.

Zarek flinched as his eyesight came back unexpectedly. "What the hell?" Five shining claws appeared on his left hand. Zarek smiled at the sight of them as he balled his hand into a fist and felt the sharp ends of his finger caps biting into his palm. Ash had always known him just a little too well.

"There's a crescent moon between Thanatos's shoulder blades," Ash's voice whispered. "Stab it and he's dead. Artemis never creates anything without an off switch."

Zarek flipped himself up to stand.

Thanatos arched a surprised brow. "So you do have more fight in you."

"Looks like the devil just hiked his ass up to Alaska to see the snow. C'mon, punk, let's dance." Zarek hit him, and Thanatos flew back. It appeared Ash had given him more than his claws. Strength and power surged through him unlike anything he'd ever experienced before. Zarek took a deep breath as all the pain he felt vanished.

Thanatos struck him across the face. Zarek laughed as the pain came and went. It didn't even faze him. Thanatos paled. "Yeah, you should be scared." He knocked him back. "It sucks when you're not the baddest thing out here, huh?" Zarek picked him up and tossed him. Thanatos rolled in the snow. He tried to get up and fell back. Zarek stalked him. It was time to put an end to this. He placed his foot on Thanatos's back to hold him down and ripped open his coat and shirt to reveal the crescent sign. So Ash hadn't lied.

"You can kill me, Dark-Hunter, but it won't take away the fact you should die for killing Dirce. She was innocent and you slaughtered her."

Zarek hesitated. "Dirce?"

"Do you not even remember her?" Thanatos tensed in rage as he twisted to look up at him accusingly. "She was only twenty years old when you cut her down."

Zarek's thoughts flashed to what Simi had shown him in her eyes... The blond woman Thanatos had impaled on his sword. "She was yours?"

"My wife, you bastard."

Zarek stared at Thanatos's mark. He should kill him. But he couldn't. Both of them had been screwed by the same person. Artemis. And it wasn't fair that he should kill Thanatos for wanting revenge. Vengeance was something he understood all too well. Hell, he'd sold his own soul for it. How could he fault Thanatos for doing the same? Zarek heard the sound of a snow machine headed back toward him. He knew without looking that it was Astrid. No doubt she'd turned around the instant he'd been distracted by the fight. He used the powers Ash had given him to bind Thanatos to the ground. The Daimon screamed for release. He screamed for death. Zarek knew the sound of both. Many nights he'd lain awake doing the same thing. If he were merciful, he would kill him. But that wasn't his job. He was a Dark-Hunter, and Thanatos... Zarek would leave him for Acheron to deal with.

Astrid parked the snow machine and came running up to him. Her eyes were a deeper blue now that she could see. "Is he contained?"

He nodded. She threw herself into his arms. Zarek stumbled backward. "Easy, princess. The only reason I'm standing and not sitting is mere strength of will."

Astrid looked past Zarek and saw Thanatos on the ground, cursing both of them. "Why didn't you kill him?"

"Not my place. Besides, I'm through being Artemis's lapdog. It's time I told the 'heifer goddess' to get lost."

Astrid went pale. "You can't just leave, Zarek. She'll kill you."

He smiled grimly. "Let her try. I'm in the mood to fight." He snorted at that. "Then again, I'm always in the mood to fight."

Astrid held her breath at his words. They gave her hope.

"What about us?" she asked.

For the first time she could see the anguish on his face as he looked at her, see the pain in his midnight eyes. "There is no us, princess. There never was."

Astrid opened her mouth to argue, but before she could, her mother appeared with Sasha, who was in his human form. Astrid gave her a droll look. "You're a little late, Mom."

"Blame your sisters. Atty told me to stay put. I came as soon as she would let me."

Sasha curled his lip at Zarek who glared back at him.

"Sorry, Scooby, I'm all out of LivaSnaps."

Sasha curled his lips. "I really hate you."

Zarek gave him a matching sneer. "Feeling's entirely mutual."

Themis ignored the men as she addressed Astrid. "Have you judged him, daughter?"

"He's innocent." She pointed to Thanatos, who was still cursing them. "There's the proof of his mercy and humanity." An ear-piercing shriek sounded. It was followed by total silence.

"What the hell was that?" Zarek asked.

"Artemis," Astrid said in unison with her mother and Sasha.

Themis sighed. "I wouldn't want to be in Acheron's place tonight."

"Why?" Zarek asked.

It was Sasha who answered. "Never piss off a goddess. There's no telling what she'll do to him for getting you off the hook."

Zarek felt ill as he remembered some of the things Acheron had said to him in the past that hinted at the fact Artemis took her anger out on him. "She doesn't really punish him?" The looks on their faces gave him the truth. Zarek winced as he remembered all the times Ash had asked him to make it easy on him. All the times he had told Ash to burn in hell. Sasha made his way to Thanatos.

"What's to become of him?" Zarek asked.

Themis shrugged. "It's up to Artemis. He belongs to her."

Zarek sighed at that. "Maybe I should have killed him after all." Astrid used her sleeve to blot at the blood on his face.

"No," her mother said. "What you did for Simi and my daughter along with the mercy you showed Thanatos is why I'm allowing her verdict to stand even though she violated her impartiality oath." Astrid smiled up at him, but he didn't feel happy with the way things had turned out. "Come, Astrid," her mother said. "We need to go home."

Zarek couldn't take his eyes off her as those words wedged into his heart like a knife. Let her go...

He had to.

And yet every molecule of his body was screaming at him to keep her. To reach out and take her hand in his.

"Have you anything to say about that, Dark-Hunter?" her mother asked.

He did, but the words wouldn't come. Zarek had been strong all his life. He would be strong tonight. He would never bind her to him. It wouldn't be right.

"Sometimes stars do fall to earth."

He heard Acheron's words in his mind. It was true. They did and then they became commonplace like the rest of the dirt on the planet. His star was one of a kind. He would never allow her to be like any other. Never allow her to become common or sullied. No, her place was in the sky. With her family. With her stinking pet wolf. Never with him. "Have a nice life, princess."

Astrid's lips trembled. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears. "You too, Prince Charming." Her mother took her hand while Sasha collected Thanatos. In the blink of an eye they vanished.

Everything was the way it had been before she came. And yet nothing was the same. Zarek stood in the middle of his yard alone. There was no wind. Everything was motionless. Still. Calm. Everything except for his heart, which was breaking. Astrid was gone. It was for her own good. So why did he feel so broken-hearted?

As Zarek hung his head, he noticed the blood that was dripping from his arm. He'd best tend the wound before any bears or wolves caught its scent. Sighing, he went into his empty cabin, shut the door and bolted it. He crossed the room to his cupboard and opened it. There was really no way to tend the wound here. Since his generator had never been delivered, the water had frozen in the cold and there was no heat to thaw anything out. Even his peroxide was frozen solid. Zarek cursed and put the peroxide back in his pantry, then grabbed a bottle of vodka instead. It was slushy and thick, but still liquid.

He heard a faint ringing coming from outside. Going back out into his yard, he retrieved his backpack that Astrid had left. The mink and her kits were still inside and still cranky. Ignoring them, Zarek pulled his phone out. "Yeah?" he said, answering it.

"It's Jess. I just got a call from Acheron telling me and Andy to go home. I wanted to check in with you first, make sure you were still alive."

Zarek took the mink and her kits into his house and set them back inside the safety of his stove. "Since I answered the phone, my guess is yes, I'm still living."

"Smart-ass. You still need me to come get Astrid?"

"No, she's..." He choked on the word. Clearing his throat, he forced it out. "She's gone."

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" Silence hung between them.

After a few seconds, Jess spoke again. "By the way, did anyone ever tell you about Sharon? In all the commotion, I didn't have time."

Zarek paused, his hand on the stove. "What about her?"

"Thanatos hurt her trying to find you, but she'll be okay. Otto is going to stay up here for a few more days to make sure she gets a new house and has someone to take care of her when she comes home from the hospital. I just thought you'd want to know. I... uh... I sent her some flowers from you."

He let out a slow breath. It pained him that she'd been hurt and he hadn't even known. He ruined everything he touched. "Thanks, Jess. It was a kind thing you did for me. I appreciate it." Something struck the phone's receiver. Hard. It caused Zarek's ear to ring.

"Excuse me?" Jess asked in disbelief. "This is Frozen Zarek I'm talking to, right? Not some weird pod person?"

He shook his head at Jess's joking. "It's me, dickless."

"Hey, now, that's way too personal. I don't need to know that much about you."

Zarek gave a half-hearted smile. "Shut up."

"All right, then. I'm going to head out and let Mike take my ass out of here while I still got some of it left unfrozen... Oh, hey, by the way, Spawn headed out a while back. Said to tell you not to worry about returning his phone. You know, he's not half-bad for an Apollite and he's not that far from here. Maybe you ought to call him sometime."

"You playing matchmaker?"

"Um, no. Definitely not, and again you're freaking me out with that entire train of thought. I've heard enough stories about you Greeks and all that. In fact, tell you what, forget I said anything at all about Spawn. I'm out of here. You take care, Z. I'll see you online."

Zarek hung up the phone and turned it off. Might as well. Jess was the only person who ever called him anyway.

"Guess I missed the fight."

Zarek turned to see Ash's friend. "You did."

"Sorry."

"Thought you were dead."

"I'm not that easy to kill. Astrid?"

"Gone."

"I'm sorry." Harry moved up next to him and studied the cabin before smiling softly. "Everyone deserves happiness Zarek." He waved his hand and the cabin changed somehow. "Love is the most powerful force in the universe, don't let it go." With that he vanished again and Zarek got the feeling he was gone for good.

He walked inside and stood in the centre of his cabin, aching so much that he could barely breathe. But was this his cabin? It was bigger and there was a roaring open fire place, warming it up so he could remove his coat. He ignored it though, not wanting to think what Harry could have done. Alone now, he needed Astrid in a way that defied his ability to comprehend. He wanted something of hers. No, he needed something. Sliding the old stove aside, he went back to his tunnel where he could remember holding her, relieved it was still there. Down here in the darkness, he could pretend she was still with him. If he closed his eyes, he could even pretend she was in his dreams. But it wasn't her. Not really. Zarek let out a ragged breath and picked his coat up from the ground. As he started to pull it on, he caught a whiff of roses. Astrid. He clutched the coat to his skin, burying his face deep in the fur so that he could capture her scent. He held it in trembling hands as emotions and memories crashed through him, racking him. He needed her. Oh, gods, he loved her. He loved her more than he'd ever imagined possible. He remembered every touch she'd given him. Every laugh she'd had around him. The way she'd made him human. And he didn't want to live without her. Not for one moment. Not a single one.

Zarek fell to his knees, unable to deal with the thought of never seeing her again. Holding his coat that smelled of her, he wept.

Ash pulled away from Zarek, giving him privacy to grieve. Artemis was outside in the temple courtyard, having one of her screaming tantrums over the verdict while he was alone in her throne room with Simi safe on his chest. "What fools these mortals be," he breathed.

But then he too had been a fool for love. Love made fools of everyone. Gods and man alike. Still, he couldn't believe Zarek had let Astrid go any more than he could believe Astrid had left.

Artemis materialized before him. "How is this possible?" she railed. "Never in the entire history of her life has she judged a man innocent!"

He looked at her calmly. "Only because she's never before judged an innocent man."

"I hate you!"

He laughed bitterly at that. "Oh, please don't get my hopes up. You almost gave me a hard-on with that thought. At least tell me this time your hatred will last more than five minutes."

She tried to slap him, but he caught her hand. So instead she kissed him, then tore away from his lips shrieking. Ash shook his head as she vanished again. She would calm down in time. She always did. But he had other things to worry about at the moment. Closing his eyes, he breached the distance between Olympus and the human world.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Zarek jerked his head up to find himself in the middle of a white and gold room. It was huge, with a gold-domed ceiling embossed with wildlife scenes. The room was encircled with white marble columns and in the centre sat a large ivory settee. What surprised him most was to see Acheron standing in front of the settee, staring at him with those strange swirling silver eyes. The Atlantean had long, golden-blond hair and looked strangely vulnerable-which for Acheron was an impossibility. He was dressed in a pair of tight black leather pants and wore a long-sleeved black silk shirt that had been left unbuttoned.

"Thank you for Simi," Acheron said, inclining his head toward him. "I appreciate what you did for her when she was wounded."

Zarek cleared his throat, rose to his feet, and aimed an angry glare at Acheron. "Why did you fuck with my head?"

"I had to. There are some things people are better off not knowing."

"You let me think I had killed my own people."

"Would the truth have been any easier on you? Instead of the old crone's face, you would have been haunted by the face of a young woman and her husband. Not to mention you would have had the knowledge to kill any Dark-Hunter who got in your way, including Valerius, and had you done that, I wouldn't have been able to save you. Ever."

Zarek flinched at the mention of his brother. As much as he hated to admit it, Ash was right. He might very well have used his knowledge to kill Valerius. "You have no right to play with people's minds."

Acheron's agreement stunned him. "No, I don't. And believe it or not, I seldom do. But that's not why you're really mad, now is it?"

Zarek tensed. "I don't know what you mean."

"Yes you do, Z." He closed his eyes and cocked his head as if listening to something. "I know every thought inside you. Just as I did that night you slaughtered the Apollites and Daimons after Taberleigh. I tried to give you peace of mind by eliminating your memories, but you wouldn't take it. I couldn't stop your dreams and M'Adoc wouldn't help. For that I apologize. But right now you have a much bigger problem than what I did to you when I tried to help."

"Yeah? What's that?"

Acheron held his hand up and projected an image from his palm. Zarek's breath caught as he saw Astrid weeping. She sat in a small atrium with three other women who were holding her as she cried. He walked toward the image, only to remember he couldn't really touch it.

"It hurts so much," she sobbed.

"Atty, do something!" a blond woman said, looking at the redheaded woman who appeared to be the eldest. "Go kill him for hurting her."

"No," Astrid wailed. "Don't you dare. I'll never forgive you if you hurt him."

"Who are those women with her?" Zarek asked.

"The three Fates. Atty, or Atropos, is the one with red hair. Clotho is the one with blond hair holding Astrid, and the dark-headed one is Lachesis, or Lacy."

Zarek stared at them, his heart breaking at the pain he'd caused Astrid. The last thing he had ever wanted was to hurt her. "Why are you showing me this?"

Acheron answered his question with one of his own. "Do you remember what I said to you in New Orleans?"

Zarek looked at him wryly. "You said a lot of shit to me then."

So Acheron repeated it." ' The past is dead; Z. Tomorrow will become whatever decision you make.'" Acheron's gaze burned into him. "With Dionysus's help you blew it that night in New Orleans when you attacked the cops, but you bought yourself another chance when you saved Sunshine." Ash indicated Astrid. "You have another crucial choice here, Z. What will you decide?" Acheron closed his hand and the image of Astrid and her sisters vanished. "Everyone deserves to be loved, Zarek. Even you."

"Shut up!" he snarled. "You don't know what you're talking about, Your Highness." Zarek spat the title out. He was so sick of people lecturing him when they were ignorant of what he'd been through. It was easy for someone like Acheron to tell him about love. What did a prince know about people hating him? Despising him? When had anyone ever spat on the Atlantean? But Acheron didn't speak. At least not with words. Instead, an image came into Zarek's mind. One of a blond teenager in chains in the middle of an ancient Greek home. The boy was bloody while being beaten. He was begging those around him for mercy. Zarek's breath caught as he recognized the youth...

"I understand you in a way no one else can," Acheron said quietly. "You have a rare chance, Z. Don't fuck it up."

For the first time ever, he listened to Acheron. And he looked on him with a newfound respect. They were far more alike than he could have guessed and he wondered how Acheron had found the humanity that had abandoned Zarek so long ago. "What if I hurt her?" Zarek asked.

"Do you plan on hurting her?"

"No, but I can't live here and she-"

"Why don't you ask her, Z?"

"What about her mother?"

"What about her? You were willing to fight Artemis for Thanatos. Isn't Astrid worth just as much?"

"More." He met Ash's gaze with fired determination. "Where is she?" Before Zarek could blink, he found himself in the atrium Acheron had shown him.

Atty looked up with a hiss. "No man is allowed here!" The one Acheron had called Clotho started to attack him. But she pulled up sharply as Acheron appeared beside him.

Zarek ignored them as he concentrated on Astrid who sat there with tears in her eyes, staring at him as if he were an apparition. His heart pounding, he walked over to her and knelt down before her chair. "Stars aren't supposed to cry," he whispered so that only she could hear him. "They're supposed to laugh."

"How can I laugh when I have no heart?"

He took her hand into his and kissed the tip of every finger. "You have a heart." He placed her hand over his. "One that only beats for you, princess."

She offered him a trembling smile. "Why are you here, Zarek?"

He brushed the tears from her cheeks. "I'm here to collect my rose, if she'll come home with me."

"Don't even go there," Atty cried. "Astrid, please don't tell me you're going to listen to that drivel?"

"He's a man, baby sister," Lacy chimed in. "If his lips are moving, he's lying."

"Why don't the three of you stay out of this?" Acheron said.

Atty stiffened. "Excuse me? We're the Fates and-" A sideways glare from Acheron cut her off midstream. "Why don't we leave them alone?" Atty said to her sisters. The three of them hurried off while Acheron watched Zarek and Astrid with his arms folded over his chest.

Zarek still hadn't taken his gaze off Astrid. "You going to be a voyeur, Ash?"

"Depends. You going to give me something to look at?"

"If you keep standing there, I am." He looked over his shoulder then.

Acheron inclined his head to him and turned around to leave. As he did so, the breeze caught a portion of his shirt and blew it back, showing a flash of one shoulder. Zarek started at the red welts it revealed. Welts he knew from experience came from a whip.

"Wait!" Astrid said, stopping Acheron. "What about Zarek's soul?"

Acheron stiffened ever so slightly before he called out, "Artemis?"

She shimmered in beside him. "What?" she snarled back.

He nodded toward them. "Astrid wants Zarek's soul."

"Oh, like I care, and what is he doing here anyway?" She narrowed her eyes at Astrid. "You should know better than to bring him here."

Ash cleared his throat. "I brought Zarek here."

"Oh." Artemis calmed instantly. "Why did you do that?"

"Because they belong together." He smiled ironically. "It's fated."

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Don't even go there."

Astrid came to her feet. "I want Zarek's soul, Artemis. Return it to him."

"I don't have it." They were all stunned by her words.

"What do you mean you don't have it?" Acheron asked, his tone sharp and angry. "Don't tell me you lost it."

"Of course not." She looked over at Zarek and Astrid, and if Zarek didn't know better, he'd say she looked embarrassed. "I never really took it." All three of them stared at her in disbelief.

"Come again?" Ash asked.

Artemis curled her lip as she looked at Zarek. "I couldn't take it. That would have involved my touching him and he was disgusting back then." She shuddered. "There was no way I would have put my hand on him. He smelled."

Open-mouthed, Acheron looked at Zarek. "You lucky bastard." Then he turned back to Artemis. "If you didn't touch him, how has he been an immortal Dark-Hunter all this time?"

Artemis gave him a haughty sneer. "You don't know everything after all, now do you, Acheron?" He took a step toward her and she squeaked, putting more distance between them. "I injected him with ichor," she said quickly.

Zarek was stunned. Ichor was a mineral found in the blood of the gods that was said to make them immortal.

"What about his Dark-Hunter powers?" Acheron asked.

"Those I gave to him separately, along with the fangs and such so that you wouldn't realize he wasn't like the others."

Acheron gave her a tired, repugnant stare. "Oh, I know I'm going to hate the answer for this one. But I have to know. What about the sunshine, Artemis? Since he has his soul my guess is he was never banished from daylight, was he?" The look on her face confirmed it.

"You bitch!" Zarek snarled, rushing toward her. To his surprise, it was Acheron who stopped him from reaching her. "Let me go. I want to rip her throat out!"

Astrid pulled him back. "Leave her alone, Zarek. She has her own problems."

Zarek hissed at Artemis, baring his fangs. Fangs that instantly vanished. Zarek ran his tongue over his human teeth.

"A gift," Acheron said.

Zarek calmed a degree and then even more when he realized Astrid had her arms wrapped around his waist. Her front was tight against his back so that he could feel her breasts against his spine. Closing his eyes, he savoured the feel of her.

"You are free of Artemis, Zarek," Astrid said in his ear. "You've been judged innocent and you're immortal. Tell me, what do you want to do with the rest of eternity?"

"I want to go lie on the beach someplace warm."

Astrid's heart caught at his words. She'd foolishly thought he would say something about her. "I see."

"But most of all," he said, turning in her arms to face her, "I want to piss off everyone."

"Everyone?" she asked, her heart breaking even more.

"Yeah," he said, granting her a rare smile. "The way I figure it, if I leave you, only me and you are unhappy. If I take you with me, everyone but us is pissed, especially that mangy thing you call a wolf. That has serious appeal for me."

She arched a brow at that. "If you're trying to woo me with that one, Prince Charming, you've-"

He stopped her words with a kiss so supreme that her toes curled. Her heart pounded. Zarek nipped her lips, then pulled back to stare down at her. "Come away with me, Astrid."

"Why should I?"

His gaze burned into hers. "Because I love you, and even if I'm lying on the sun itself I'll be freezing there without you. I need my star so that I can hear laughter."

Laughing with excitement, she gave him an "Eskimo" kiss. "Bora Bora, here we come."

Zarek finished her words off with a real kiss. A really l-o-n-g one.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Artemis sat alone on her throne, toying with her pillows. Acheron had been gone a long time now and she was beginning to worry. He couldn't leave Olympus, but he could do other things... Things that could get her into a great deal of trouble if Zeus ever learned of them. Maybe she had been foolish to let him have an afternoon of freedom on her mountain. Just as she was ready to go find him, the doors of her temple opened. She smiled at the sight of Acheron striding through them. Her Acheron was gorgeous.

His long blond hair flowed around his shoulders and the black leather pants hugged a body that had been created for seduction. A body made to please others.

The doors closed behind him.

Her body warm, she pushed herself up in sweet expectation. She recognized the feral look in his eyes. The raw, unadulterated hunger. Desire flowed thick and heavy through her veins as she felt the moisture suddenly pooling between her legs.

This was the Acheron she loved best. The predator. The one who took what he wanted and didn't negotiate. His clothes dissolved from his body as he neared her. So did her own.

She shivered at the magnitude of his powers. Powers that made a mockery of hers. He'd gone too long without feeding. They both knew it. Whenever he reached a certain point, his compassion died and he became amoral and unfeeling. He'd reached that point.

She moaned as he grabbed her and pulled her close to his hard, muscular body. His erection burned against her hip. "What do you want, Acheron?" she asked, but her breathlessness betrayed her affected nonchalance.

His hot gaze swept her naked body, making her burn even more. "You know what I want," he said hoarsely in Atlantean. "After all I'm the top of the Food Chain and you... you're the Food." His eyes flashed to red as he parted her thighs.

Artemis groaned and came as soon as he masterfully entered her. Her head swimming, she held him close, running her hands over his smooth, muscled back as he thrust himself deep inside her over and over again in a pounding rhythm that made her dizzy. Yes, this was what she wanted. This was the Acheron she had fallen in love with. The man she would defy even the very gods to keep. The man for whom she had broken every rule so that she could bind him to her forever. He made love to her furiously, his hunger building and firing her own.

Artemis leaned her head to the side waiting for what she knew was coming.

Acheron's eyes swirled like red fire an instant before he lowered himself and sank his teeth into her neck so that he could feed from her.

Artemis cried out as they came in unison. As his powers coursed through her, blinding her to everything except the powerful feel of him inside her.

She could pretend to rule him all she wanted to, but at the end of the day she knew the truth. He ruled her. And she hated him for that.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Harry sat on his couch, glad to be back in the warmth again and very happy that Zarek had survived. He pulled his shirt up and looked down at the new scars he'd gained in the last week, one over his heart and one through his side. Something was happening to him, he just didn't know what. And he was worried about Ash. He knew how Ash felt about Artemis, that he'd loved her once but now hated her. It must kill him to be there with her all this time. But there was nothing he could do, he was just a wizard and she was a goddess.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Zarek lay on the beach letting the sun and hot wind sear his skin. Oh, the feel of it! They had been here for close to a month now and still he couldn't get enough of being on the beach. Of being with Astrid, night and day. He felt something cold fall on his chest. Opening his eyes, he saw Astrid above him, smiling down as she watched him. She held a small bowl in one hand and a glass in the other. "Careful, princess, you know I hate it whenever something cold touches me."

She knelt down beside him, and set the bowl aside before wiping the drop of water off his chest, her touch more searing than the sun. Her gaze travelled over his body, down to his swim shorts that now had a rather large bump in them. She smiled wickedly at that. "You know; I remember watching a movie once..."

He was suspicious of the gleam in her eye. "Yeah?" She pulled an ice cube from her glass and placed it in her mouth. Zarek watched, transfixed by the sight of her licking it. She pulled it out, then placed it on his skin. "Astrid..."

"Shh," she said, circling his nipple until it was hard and firm. She blew her hot breath across it, causing him to swell even more. "You know what the best part is about being cold, don't you?"

"What?"

"Thawing you out."

Zarek moaned as she lowered her mouth to him and flicked her tongue back and forth over his nipple. When she pulled back, he whimpered a small protest. She ignored it and dodged his hands.

"Before I forget-" she said, playfully pushing his hands aside, "and if I keep doing this, I will forget-I have something for you."

Zarek leaned up on his elbows. "Please don't tell me Scooby's coming to visit."

She rolled her eyes at him. "No. Sasha is staying at Sanctuary in New Orleans for the time being. Since we've been staying at the beach he refuses to come 'see your naked ass' lest he go blind from it."

Zarek looked less than amused. "So what is it then?" She handed him her bowl. Zarek looked at the contents, which reminded him a bit of lemon Jell-O. "What is that?"

"Ambrosia. One bite of it and I can take you home with me to Olympus. Otherwise I have to leave you here in three days and go home alone."

"Why?"

She smoothed the frown from his forehead with her fingertips. "You know I can't live here on earth. I can only stay for a brief time. If you want to, you can stay and I'll come back when I can, but-"

He stopped her words with a kiss. Zarek pulled back. "What will the others say when you show up with a slave by your side?"

"You're not a slave, Zarek, and I don't care what they say. Do you?"

He snorted at that. "Not at all." She held the ambrosia up to his lips. Zarek gave her a quick kiss, then ate the ambrosia and drank her nectar. He expected it to hurt or burn, but it went down just like the cotton candy she once gave him. The sweet, sugary taste dissolved instantly in his mouth. "Is that it?" he asked suspiciously.

She nodded. "That's it. What? Were you expecting fireworks or something?"

"No, I only expect those when I make love to you."

"Aww," she breathed, rubbing her nose against his. "I love it when you talk nice to me."

Zarek kissed her hand, then started laughing as he thought over everything that had happened since he met her.

"What's so funny?" Astrid asked.

"I'm just thinking, here I am a slave who touched a star who then made him a demigod. I have to be the luckiest bastard who ever lived."

Her blue eyes burned into his. "Yes, you are, Prince Charming, and don't you ever forget it."

"Believe me, princess. I won't."

_TBC….._


End file.
